Newell 


Hawaii,  its  Natural 

Resources  and  Opportunities 

for  Home-Making 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


60th  Congress  "I 
2d  Session       / 


SENATE 


/  Document 

I    No.  668 


.^) 


HAWAII 


ITS  NATURAL  RESOURCES 

AND  OPPORTUNITIES  FOR 

HOME-MAKING 


BY 

F.  H.^NEWELL 

Director  of  the  Reclamation  Service 


^ 


January  20,  1909. — Ordered  to  be  printed 
■with  accompanying  illustrations 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING   OFFICE 

1909 


HC 


oo:?^TE]srTs. 


Pag*?. 

Introduction 7 

Land  surface 8 

Arid  lands 10 

[Lands  in  public  ownership 10 

[Lands  in  private  ownership 12 

[Land  subdivision 12 

[Land  values , 15 

gWater  supply: 

Units  of  measurement 16 

Duty  of  water 16 

Prices  of  water 17 

^Irrigation  development: 

Hawaii 18 

Maui 20 

Molokai 21 

Oahu 21 

Kauai 22 

[Reclaimable  lands 23 

[Water  rights 25 

[Water  power 26 

iForest  preservation 28 

[insect  pests  and  blights 32 

[Population 34 

llndustries: 

Sugar 38 

Rice 39 

Diversified  industries 40 

fLabor: 

Importing  labor 44 

iHome  making: 

Homes  on  public  lands 47 

Is  home  making  practicable 49 

[Summary 50 


ILLU8TRATIO]:^S. 


Page. 

iFiG.    1.  Area  of  Hawaiian  Islands  compared  with  area  of  Colorado 9 

2.  Classification  of  all  lands  as  regards  character 10 

3.  Ownership  of  land n 

4.  Distribution  of  public  land 13 

5.  Classification  of  public  lands 14 

6.  Forest  areas  and  forest  reserves 29 

7.  Population  changes 35 

8.  Voters,  1908 "  36 

9.  All  school  children,  1908 38 

10.  Production  of  sugar 40 

3 


1324553 


PREFACE. 


Under  instructions  of  July  7,  1908.  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Inte- 
rior I  visited  the  Territor}^  of  Hawaii  and  made  the  memoranda  sub- 
mitted herewith  rehiting  to  matters  of  interest  in  connection  witli  the 
possibility  of  reclaiming  the  arid  public  lands  and  of  utilizing  these 
for  homes. 

I  arrived  in  the  islands  on  September  23  and  left  on  November  18, 
being  eight  weeks  in  the  Territor}-,  spending  the  greater  part  of  this 
in  travel,  during  which  time  I  made  a  circuit  of  the  island  of  Oahu, 
visiting  in  order  Maui,  Kahoolawe,  Hawaii,  ]Molokai,  and  Kauai.  In 
the  course  of  the  various  trips  I  traveled  approximately  700  miles  on 
interisland  steamers,  750  miles  by  carriage,  automobile,  or  railway 
train,  and  450  miles  on  horseback.  I  had  an  opportunity^  of  meeting 
many  people  of  the  islands  in  their  homes,  as  relatively  little  time 
was  spent  in  hotels.  I  also  had  opportunities  of  being  present  at 
various  popular  gatherings  and  associations  where  matters  of  interest 
relating  to  the  development  of  the  Territory  were  discussed. 

In  making  this  report  I  have  tried  to  present  the  larger  features  of 
a  complex  situation,  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  a  certain  freshness 
of  impression,  amplifying  the  details  which  strike  the  newcomer  and 
which  are  not  readily  found  in  reports  or  books  on  the  islands.  The 
impressions  of  a  first  visit  differ  widely  from  preconceived  opinions 
obtained  from  reports  or  from  descriptions  which  necessarily  deal 
largely  with  special  features.  This  will  explain  why  I  have  gone 
somewhat  fully  into  matters  which  are  elementary  to  the  people  of 
the  islands,  but  which  seem  to  be  overlooked  by  the  average  Ameri- 
can citizen. 

The  descriptions  of  irrigation  and  other  works  dealing  with  sizes, 
capacities,  and  cost  have  been  compiled  from  memoranda  somewhat 
hastily  prepared.  There  has  not  been  opportunity  for  securing  veri- 
fication of  these  data  from  the  owners  or  engineers  of  the  works.  The 
object  of  inserting  the  descriptions  has  been  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  considerable  development  has  taken  place  and  to  indicate 
in  a  general  way  the  character  of  this  development.  It  is  hoped  that 
in  the  future  a  more  careful  description  may  be  prepared  of  these 
works,  and  to  this  end  information  is  being  obtained  to  bring  these 
statements  up  to  date.  The  purpose  of  this  report  is  amply  served 
by  calling  attention  to  the  present  knowledge  of  the  existing  con- 
ditions. 

In  my  trips  among  the  islands  I  have  had  the  advantage  and  per- 
sonal pleasure  of  being  accompanied  by  Gov.  Walter  F.  Frear.  His 
broad  knowledge  of  local  conditions  has  been  invaluable.  He  has 
already  thought  out  and  called  attention  to  or  put  into  practice  as 

5 


6  NATURAL  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 

far  as  possible  many  of  the  important  principles  of  conservation  of 
the  resources  of  the  islands.  His  annual  report  exhibits  concisely  the 
existing  conditions  and  calls  attention  to  needed  legislation  in  the  line 
of  progress.  In  it  he  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  sentiment  among 
the  thinking  public  on  the  islands  is  rapidly  growing  in  favor  of 
bringing  in  or  encouraging  the  larger  introduction  of  laborers  who 
are  or  will  become  American  citizens,  thus  gradually  reducing  the 
proportion  of  aliens,  mainly  Orientals,  who  form  over  half  of  the 
jiOjDulation. 

A  sentiment  toward  changing  the  character  of  the  laborers  from 
aliens  to  citizens  has  been  aroused  among  the  thinking  people  of  the 
islands.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  the 
laborers — who  will  be  voters — must  have  a  home  and  ownership  of  a 
small  tract  of  land  if  they  are  to  be  a  stable  and  conservative  force  in 
government.  This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  overshadowing 
problem  of  home  making  and  home  preservation,  and  through  home 
making  the  permanent  increase  of  a  working  population  with  the 
civic  capacity  which  is  essential  to  the  safety  of  an  x^merican  com- 
monwealth. Many  attempts  have  been  made  in  this  direction  with 
little  success,  but  as  a  result  of  the  experience  had  in  the  arid  States 
and  Territories  it  is  believed  that  lands  now  arid  and  mainly  in  public 
ownership  can  be  reclaimed,  divided  into  small  tracts,  and  the  owner- 
ship gradually  passed  to  American  citizens,  including  both  laborers 
and  small  farmers. 

F.  H.  Newell. 

December  21,  1908. 


HAWAII. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  Hawaiian  Islands  are  a  part  of  the  United  States  lying  2,000 
miles  off  the  coast  of  California  and  several  hundred  miles  easterly 
from  the  farthest  western  possessions  of  the  United  States  in  Alaska. 
These  islands  are  now  and  have  been  for  eight  years  (since  June  14, 
1900)  an  integral  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  This 
fact  seems  to  be  not  generally  appreciated  by  the  great  mass  of  citi- 
zens on  the  mainland.  As  a  consequence,  the  opportunities  offered 
by  the  islands  and  the  duties  of  the  United  States  as  a  whole  to  the 
Territory  have  been  quite  largely  overlooked.  The  opportunities  are 
those  offered  by  a  rich  soil,  a  highly  developed  civilization,  and,  most 
notably,  by  a  climate  ideal  as  regards  comfort  and  suitability  for 
high  physical  development. 

The  duties  of  the  nation  to  this  Territory  arise  from  the  fact  that 
this  island  outpost  is  the  gateway  through  which  passes  most  of  the 
traffic  to  and  from  the  Orient,  and  where  diseases  inimical  to  the 
human  race,  also  the  insect  pests  or  blights  injurious  to  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  must  be  caught  and  destroyed  or  j^revented  from 
further  progress.  From  the  political  standpoint  the  importance  of 
keeping  these  islands  thoroughly  American  in  racial  and  social  affini- 
ties can  hardly  be  overestimated.  There  is  not  sufficient  area  to  develop 
at  once  a  State  so  great  and  independent  that  its  demands  will  be 
prominent  at  the  federal  capital.  It  is  therefore  incumbent  upon  the 
National  Government  to  see  that  this  community  is  given  the  needed 
encouragement  and  support  which  will  lead  to  its  best  development 
along  traditional  American  lines. 

The  health  of  the  bod}^  politic  demands  that  this  small  but  impor- 
tant territory  should  have  a  full  recognition  and  constant  considera- 
tion. It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  upon  any  argument  along  military 
lines.  This  has  been  widely  discussed,  but  it  is  significant  to  point 
out  that  this  gatewa}'  to  and  from  the  Orient  is  the  abiding  place  for 
Orientals  now  comprising  50  per  cent  of  the  population.  Counting 
with  these  the  peoples  from  southern  Europe — landless  and  largely 
migratory  laborers,  with  no  inherent  loyalty  to  republican  institu- 
tions— the  total  forms  nearh^  three-fourths  of  the  whole  jiopulation 
of  the  islands.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  natives,  who  comprise 
nearly  three-fourths  of  the  voters,  are  still  uncertain  in  their  civil 
attitude — are  easily  swayed  by  specious  arguments — and  there  arises 
a  condition  where  common  prudence  demands  careful  thought,  result- 
ing in  a  definite  plan,  followed  by  action.     There  is  a  striking  defi- 


8  NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII. 

ciency  in  numbers  of  what  have  been  called  the  '•  plain  people '' — 
citizens  descended  from  generations  of  freemen — in  whom  thrift, 
energy,  and  civic  virtues  are  inborn.  This  lack  notably  of  the  "small 
farmer  "  has  long  been  recognized.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  nation  to 
assist  in  filling  this  need. 

liAND    SURFACE. 

The  land  surface  of  the  eight  inhabited  islands  aggregates  a  little 
under  6,500  square  miles,  or,  in  round  numbers,  a  little  over  4.000,000 
acres,  being  a  little  less  than  the  area  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 
The  largest  island,  Hawaii,  has  an  area  of  4,015  square  miles,  or  about 
the  same  as  Connecticut. 

Compared  with  Porto  Rico,  which  has  an  area  of  3,435  square  miles, 
the  Island  of  Hawaii  is  one-sixth  larger.  In  population,  however, 
the  islands  as  a  whole  have  only  about  170,000  persons,  or  20  per 
square  mile,  while  Porto  Eico  has  about  1,000,000,  or  nearly  300  per 
square  mile. 

In  extent  the  islands  cover  an  area  comparable  to  a  belt  extending 
diagonally  across  Colorado,  as  illustrated  by  figure  1. 

*~Tlie  lands  are  made  up  almost  entirely  of  lava  flows,  some  of 
great  antiquity,  others  quite  recent.  The  upper  layers  of  the  older 
lavas,  where  they  have  decayed  on  the  surface,  furnish  soils  which, 
though  very  fertile,  are  frequently  eroded  by  ravines  or  canyons. 
The  lands  covered  b}^  the  most  recent  lavas  are  practically  valueless, 
the  rough  surface,  not  yet  disintegrated  by  the  weather,  being  bare 
of  vegetation  and  in  many  places  impassable  to  man  or  beast. 

On  the  4,000,000  ircres  of  land  surface,  probably  one-third  (see 
fig.  2)  is  of  little  or  no  use,  consisting  of  fresh  lava  or  of  cliifs, 
canyons,  and  ravines  too  steep  even  for  the  growth  of  forest  trees. 
The  most  valuable  land  is  that  now  utilized  for  the  growth  of  sugar 
cane^  This  aggregates  about  213,000  acres,  of  which  34,000  acres 
belong  to  the  Government.  ^The  cane  land  is  located  on  the  alluvial 
flats  and  lower  slopes  of  disintegrated  lava  flows.  Above  or  adjacent 
to  these  is  the  belt  of  land  too  high  or  too  dry  for  sugar,  but  used 
largely  for  grazing^  This  aggregates  about  1,500,000  acres.  Higher 
up  the  mountain  slopes,  extending  on  the  windward  side  to  the  tops 
of  all  but  the  highest  mountains,  are  the  forests,  the  collecting  ground 
for  the  water  supply  of  the  lower  lands. j  These  embrace  over  1,000,000 
acres,  of  which  three-fourths  have  been  or  will  soon  be  set  aside  as 
territorial  forest  reserves.  About  70  per  cent  of  the  area  of  the 
reserves  belongs  to  the  Territory,  the  remainder  being  in  the  hands 
of  individuals  or  corporations,  who  are  working  with  the  territorial 
officials  in  preserving  the  forest  cover. 

'  Altitude  and  exposure  to  the  wind  governs  largely  the  productive 
capacity  of  the  land  areas.  The  soil,  though  all  of  volcanic  origin, 
varies  in  quality  largely  through  differences  in  exposure  to  the 
weather,  to  dryness,  ancl  consequently  to  the  degree  to  which  the 
parent  rocks  have  disintegrated. 

At  altitudes  below  1,000  feet  the  climate  is  truly  tropical,  especially 
on  the  leeward  or  sheltered  side,  while  on  the  mountain  tops,  above 
10,000  feet,  the  climate  is  almost  arctic  in  its  severity.     As  a  whole, 


NATUBAL.  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 


only  about  one  quarter  of  the  area  of  the  islands  is  below  1,000  feet 
above  sea  level,  another  quarter  is  from  1,000  to  3,000  feet  in  altitude, 
and  the  remainder  above  3.000  feet.  It  is  in  this  belt  of  land  above 
1,000  feet  and  reaching  well  up  on  the   mountain   slope  that  the 


r' 


!      ^ 

I 

highest  development  of  small  farming  and  diversified  industries 
appear  probable.  The  elevation  is  sufficiently  great  to  insure  a 
climate  suitable  for  the  comfort  of  the  white  race  and  yet  is  suf- 
ficiently warm  for  the  raising  of  many  valuable  products-^ 


10 


NATUEAL  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 


ARID  LANDS. 

Over  one-third  of  the  entire  land  surface  of  the  islands  is  arid  for 
the  greater  portion  of  each  year.  Taking  into  consideration  only  the 
areas  which  possess  a  soil  of  agricultural  value,  it  may  be  said  that 
one-half  of  all  the  good  soils  of  the  islands  require  the  artificial  appli- 
cation of  water  to  be  of  the  highest  value  in  crop  production.  Much 
of  the  lands  now  used  for  grazing  can  be  utilized  for  crops  if  water 
can  be  had  at  the  right  time. 

It  is  popularly  supposed  that  the  islands  are  saturated  with  mois- 
ture. This  is  because  of  the  fact  that  at  certain  points,  notably  on 
the  windward  side,  the  precipitation  is  exceedingly  heavy  and  has  been 


Fig.  2. — Classification  of  lands  as  regards  character. 

SO  frequently  commented  upon,  that  this  fact  of  heavy  rainfall  at  a 
few  points  has  overshadowed  the  equally  important  fact  that  other 
parts  of  the  island*  have  a  deficient  water  supply ._, 

LANDS  IN  PUBLIC  OWNERSHIP. 


The  total  area  of  public  lands  owned  by  the  Territory  of  Hawaii  is 
estimated  at  a  little  over  1,000,000  acres,  or  one-third  the  entire  land 
Burface.  Practically  all  of  this  is  under  lease  and  is  being  put  to  some 
use.  Much  of  it  has  little  value,  being  composed  of  recent  lava  flows, 
or  is  cut  up  by  great  canyons.  About  34,000  acres,  or  2  per  cent,  is 
now  in  sugar  cane,  and  about  500,000  is  included  in  various  ranches, 


NATUEAL   RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII. 


11 


being  cut  up  usually  by  stone  walls  into  grazing  fields  or  paddocks. 
Much  of  the  remainder,  or  273,912  acres,  is  included  in  territorial 
forest  reserves,  and  additional  area  up  to  a  total  of  about  300,000 
acres  will  be  thus  set  aside. 

Many  of  the  leases  on  the  larger  tracts  of  public  lands  were  origi- 
nall}^  executed  in  the  years  from  18C0  to  1890,  and  had  a  length  of  life 
of  fifty  years  or  less.  As  each  lease  expires  the  question  arises  as  to 
the  disposition  to  be  made  of  this  particular  area.  Thus  the  broad 
question  as  to  the  future  of  all  the  i^ublic  lands  has  not  been  forcibly 
presented  at  any  one  time.  Executive  action  in  carrying  out  any 
future  policy  must  await  the  opportunity  when  each  lease  expires  in 
turn. 


Fig. 


50 

-Ownorship  of  lands. 


There  is  little  in  the  public  land  situation  in  the  islands  which 
is  directly  comparable  with  that  on  the  mainland.  On  the  islands 
the  public  lands  are  now,  and  have  been  for  generations,  occupied  and 
put  to  some  use.  They  are  more  or  less  highly  developed,  and  are 
under  cultivation  as  far  as  the  arid  conditions  will  ])ermit.  They 
can  be  compared,  perhaps,  most  nearly  to  the  abandoned  military 
and  similar  reservations  in  the  arid  Western  States,  Avhere  houses 
have  been  built,  ditches  constructed,  fields  fenced,  and  a  comparatively 
large  population  has  found  a  homo.  They  are  included  within  or  are 
bounded  by  tracts  of  private  land  of  equal  or  greater  size,  Avhich  also 
have  been  occupied  and  used  for  generations.  They  do  not,  as  on 
the  mainland,  consist  of  vast  stretches  whose  resources  are  little 


12  NATUKAL  RESOURCES  OF   HAWAII. 

known  and  where  the  newcomer  must  select  his  homestead  on  untried 
areas  remote  from  human  habitation;  on  the  contrary,  most  of  the 
arable  public  lands  on  the  islands  show  evidence  of  former  occupa- 
tion or  agricidtural  improvement,  and  has  been  the  home  of  genera- 
tions of  tillers  of  the  soil.  Every  little  hill  and  valley  and  each  nat- 
ural feature  has  now,  or  did  have,  a  Avell-recognized  name,  and  com- 
plicated rights  of  w^ter  have  vested  from  time  immemorial. 

LANDS    IN   PRIVATE    OWNERSHIP. 

The  title  to  all  lands  in  private  ownership  dates  from  about  1848. 
Prior  to  that  time  the  lands  and  waters  belonged  to  the  King  and 
were  divided  by  him  among  his  chiefs  or  followers,  who  in  turn 
alloted  portions  to  the  people.  Land  tenure  was  then  comparable 
to  that  under  the  feudal  system  in  Europe.  In  1846  to  1855  a  division 
of  all  lands  was  made,  resulting  in  approximately  the  following 
allotments : 

Acres. 

To  the  Crown 1,100,000 

To  the  Government 1,413,000 

To  chiefs  and  people 1,647,000 

Total 4, 160,  000 

This  ownership  applied  mostly  to  Hawaiians,  as  the  laws  until 
1859  practically  prohibited  aliens  from  such  land  ownership.  There 
were  approximately  11,000  native  owners  who  received  an  average 
of  from  2  to  3  acres  apiece,  these  being  the  small  kuleanas  or  taro 
patches,  occupied  and  tilled  by  each  man  at  that  time.  This  division 
of  the  land  illustrates  the  fact  that  the  needs  of  the  common  people 
were  filled  and  a  relatively  high  state  of  cidture  developed  by  indi- 
vidual work  on  very  small  tracts;  in  fact,  the  native  under  best 
conditions,  can  rarely  make  use  of  a  larger  area. 

Bishop  estate. — The  largest  private  landowner  in  the  islands  is 
the  Bishop  estate,  the  lands  being  those  resulting  from  descent  in 
the  extinct  Kamehameha  line  of  kings.  At  present  these  lands  are 
held  as  a  source  of  revenue  to  be  devoted  to  certain  schools.  The 
estate  is  estimated  to  include  375,000  acres,  or  about  9  per  cent  of  the 
entire  land  surface  of  the  islands,  but  it  is  claimed  that  only  5  per 
cent  of  this  375,000  acres  is  suitable  for  agriculture.  It  is  probable 
that  in  the  case  of  any  general  system  of  reclamation  being  under- 
taken by  the  Federal  Government  this  large  estate  as  well  as  other 
landowners  would  cooperate  in  making  available  the  reclaimable 
land  for  settlers  on  small  tracts. 

LAND    SUBDIVISION. 

r 
The  rectangular  form  of  subdivision  adopted  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  the  mainland,  both  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Canada,  is  unknown  in  the  island^,  and  is  inapplicable  to  the  phj^s- 
ical  and  cultural  conditions  there  existing.  This  system  was  origi- 
nally devised  for  the  broad  prairies  and  plains  of  the  West  and  is 
of  a  special  value  where  the  land  is  of  uniform  character  for  hun- 
dreds of  miles.  On  the  islands  there  is  no  such  thing,  the  typical 
condition  being  that  of  a  mountain  mass  sunk  partly  beneath  the 
sea  but  with  the  top  projecting  out  of  the  water.     From  the  moun- 


NATURAL   EESOUECES   OF    HAWAII. 


13 


tain  top  the  surface  slopes  in  all  directions  to  the  shore.  On  the 
windward  side  this  otherwise  gentle  slope  has  been  abruptly  ter- 
minated at  the  sea  by  erosion  forming  high  cliifs  and  deep  gorges. 
On  the  leeward  side  the  slope  has  frequently  been  prolonged  b}^  coral 
reefs  aided  by  soil  washed  or  blown  from  the  upper  lands.     Going 


around  the  islands  there  are  belts  or  zones  of  land  having  similar 
climatic  conditions,  the  successive  zones  becoming  less  and  less  trop- 
ical as  the  mountain  side  is  ascended.  These  horizontal  belts  are, 
however,  deeply  cut  by  canyons  or  gorges,  which  radiate  from  the 
central  cone. , 


14 


NATURAL   EESOURCES   OF    HAWAII. 


This  ideal  arrangement  is  interfered  with  on  several  of  the  islands 
by  the  fact  that  there  are  two  or  more  distinct  mountain  peaks,  but 
the  original  subdivision  of  the  land  by  the  natives  was  made  largely 
with  reference  to  this  typical  condition  of  topography  and  of  the 
common  needs  of  the  peoplQ'.  Each  chief  Avas  allotted  by  the  King 
a  piece  of  land  not  lying  in  a  continuous  strip  along  the  seashore 
or  on  the  mountain  side,  but  was  given  a  wedge-shaped  slice  extend- 
ing from  a  point  at  the  mountain  top  down  to  the  sea,  widening  out 
toward  the  shore.  In  this  way  each  principal  man  had  a  part  of  the 
sea  frontage  for  fishing,  a  little  lowland  for  cocoanuts  or  taro,  some 
higher  ground  for  dry-land  crops,  above  this  some  forest  for  wood 
for  various  purposes,  including  canoe  making,  and  also  some  of  the 
grazing  or  waste  land^   Thus  a  diversion  was  made  of  all  classes 


.  Fig.  5. — Classification  of  public  land. 

of  .surface,  the  size  of  each  individual  holding  being  proportional  to 
the  importance  of  the  chief. 

The  adoption  by  the  natives  of  this  method  of  land  subdivision 
is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  topographic  structure.  They  had 
originally  in  their  language  no  expression  for  the  points  of  the  com- 
i:)ass,  but  instead  of  fixed  directions, commonly  used  two  words,  which 
pass  current  even  with  the  white  men,  that  is,  the  term  "  mauka," 
to  signify  toward  the  mountain,  and  "  makai "  toward  the  sea.  It  is 
curious  to  note  that  even  though  a  man  is  accustomed  through  long 
usage  to  speak  of  directions  as  north  or  south,  east  or  west,  as  is 
done  habitually  on  the  mainland,  yet  on  coming  to  the  islands  he 
quickly  falls  into  the  habit  of  indicating  directions  by  the  simple 


NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII.  15 

■words  ''  mauka  "  or  '•'  makai,"  as  every  point  on  the  islands  is  thus 
quickly  described  with  reference  to  other  adjacent  points.  Instead 
of  describing  a  place  as  being  on  the  right  or  left  hand  side  of  the 
road,  it  is  always  *'  mauka  *'  or  "  makai '"  of  the  road. 

These  native  subdivisions,  or  ahupuaas,  the  result  of  j'ears  of  expe- 
rience, became  crystallized  into  definite  holdings  at  the  Mahele  of 
18-1:8.  Their  boundaries  were  as  a  rule  general  in  character,  and  it 
has  been  a  work  of  great  magnitude  to  establish  and  mark  upon  the 
ground  the  exact  limits  of  these  ahupuaas.  This  delimiting  each 
holding  would  have  been  comparatively  easy  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  within  each  of  these  larger  holdings  there  are  smaller  tracts, 
averaging  2  or  3  acres,  kuleanas  of  the  natives.  To  each  of  these 
there  attaches  a  more  or  less  definite  right  to  certain  waters  used  from 
time  immemorial  in  cultivation  of  taro  or  other  crops  on  the  kuleanas. 

The  descriptions  of  all  lands,  whether  public  or  private,  is  neces- 
sarily by  metes  and  bounds  and  not  by  any  simple  numerical  system 
such  as  that  made  easy  by  the  rectangular  surveys  on  the  mainland. 
Every  tract  of  land,  no  matter  how  insignificant,  has  its  individual 
name.  From  the  fact  that  the  Hawaiian  alphabet  is  limited  to  a  few 
letters,  and  certain  sjdlables  are  in  frequent  use,  it  results  that  the 
names  of  these  lands  are  frequently  similar  in  sound  or  the  same 
ame  is  repeated  in  various  localities  and  are  thus  confusing  to  the 
stranger. 

The  land  surveys,  considering  the  difficulty  of  the  work,  have  been 
made  with  extraordinary  accuracy.  They  are  based  upon  triangula- 
tion,  and  the  original  maps  are  a  matter  of  public  record.  Titles  may 
be  registered  and  transferred  b}^  the  Torrens  system. 

LAND    VALUES. 

Land  values  appear  to  be  very  high  compared  with  those  existing 
throughout  the  arid  West  of  the  United  States.  It  is,  however,  diffi- 
cult to  make  comparisons  as  the  crop-producing  capacities  of  the 
lands  are  so  different.  On  the  sugar  lands,  for  example,  eighteen 
months  is  required  for  producing  a  crop,  while  in  the  case  of  some 
other  products  two  or  even  three  crops  a  year  can  be  had. 

Few  if  any  agi'icultural  lands  are  on  the  market.  Even  city  or 
suburban  lots  were  obtainable  with  great  difficulty  until  within  a  few 
years.  The  lack  of  real  estate  agents  in  the  islands  is  very  noticeable, 
especially  when  a  person  has  become  accustomed  to  the  constant 
importunities  of  men  offering  agricultural  and  other  lands  for  sale 
in  the  vicinity  of  every  town  or  city  on  the  mainland. 

Leasing  real  estate  instead  of  selling  is  prevalent,  and  it  is  a  matter 
of  surprise  to  learn  the  large  sums  received  for  tillable  lands,  such  as 
those  rented  by  the  orientals,  notably  the  Chinese,  for  rice  produc- 
tion; $20  to  $25  per  acre  per  year  is  not  uncommon,  and  instances 
have  been  seen  where  rents  as  high  as  $40  or  even  $60  per  acre  per 
year  are  collected.  For  banana  land  the  prices  may  be  from  $5  to 
$15  per  acre.  The  tendency  is  for  the  orientals,  and  to  a  less  extent 
the  Portuguese,  to  rent  rather  than  obtain  an  absolute  title  to  the 
land.  It  is  impossible  to  assign  any  one  cause  for  the  condition, 
anomalous  in  American  territory,  of  high  rentals  and  few  if  any 
sales. 


16  NATURAL  EESOUECES   OF   HAWAII. 

The  origin  of  the  custom  lies  in  the  history  of  the  land  titles  and 
in  the  peculiar  character  of  the  population.  Up  to  the  time  of  the 
establishment  of  a  permanent  government  there  prevailed  such  uncer- 
tainty as  regards  the  future  that  investors  preferred  to  keep  tlieir 
money  in  negotiable  securities.  Even  after  the  establishment  of  the 
territorial  government  there  was  little  tendency  to  invest  in  land  or 
speculate  in  the  rise  in  value  of  real  estate.  The  sugar  planters  have, 
of  course,  endeavored  to  purchase  the  lands  needed  for  their  business. 
Failing  in  this  they  have  leased  from  the  government,  the  Bishop 
estate,  and  other  holders.  The  lands  which  might  be  useful  for  other 
purposes  have  not  as  a  rule  been  put  upon  the  market  and  would-be 
jDurchasers  of  small  tracts  have  difficulty  in  obtaining  any  land  suit- 
able for  farming. 

The  leasing  system  has  been  denounced  by  some  as  the  curse  of  the 
country,  although  it  is  recognized  that  there  are  conditions  such  as 
those  surrounding  the  occupation  of  the  land  by  the  natives  where  the 
long-time  lease  is  the  only  way  by  which  they  can  be  assured  of  a 
permanent  home.  The  high  prices  of  land  have  also  forced  men  of 
small  capital  to  lease  land  so  that  they  might  use  their  resources  in 
cultivation  and  marketing  the  crops. 

AVATER    SUPPLY. 

There  is  probably  no  part  of  the  United  States  where  in  as  small 
an  area  there  is  as  great  a  diversity  in  the  quantity  of  water  and  its 
availability.  At  one  point  the  annual  rainfall  may  be  over  300  inches 
in  depth;  only  a  few  miles  distant,  extreme  aridity  prevails.  Even 
with  the  heavy  rainfall  on  the  mountain  slopes,  which  are  exposed  to 
the  trade  winds,  there  are  relatively  few  rivers  or  living  streams. 
Much  of  the  water  sinks  into  the  porous  lava  and  penetrates  to  the 
innumerable  pipes  or  tunnels  left  by  the  fluid  rocks  as  they  originally 
flowed  toward  the  sea. 

Units  of  measurement. — In  statements  regarding  the  quantities  of 
water  the  unit  commonly  employed  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  is  the 
United  States  gallon  of  231  cubic  inches.  The  flow  of  streams  is 
given  in  millions  of  gallons  per  twenty-four  hours.  Transferring 
this  unit  to  the  one  in  ordinary  use  in  the  United  States  of  the  cubic 
foot  per  second  (or  second-foot),  there  is  found  to  be  a  convenient 
relationship  in  that  a  stream  delivering  a  million  gallons  during 
twenty-four  hours  is  equivalent  to  a  flow  of  a  little  over  1.5  second- 
feet.  The  second-foot  is  roughly  equivalent  to  two-thirds  of  a  mil- 
lion gallons  per  twenty-four  hours,  or  is  50  "  miners'  inches,"  thus 
making  the  million  gallon  per  twenty-four  hours  equivalent  to  about 
75  miners'  inches. 

The  common  unit  of  volume  of  water — for  example,  that  contained 
in  a  reservoir — is  in  the  United  States  the  acre-foot  (13,560  cubic 
feet) .  A  volume  of  a  million  gallons  is  thus  equivalent  to  3.06  acre- 
feet,  or  1  acre-foot  equals  a  little  less  than  a  third  of  a  million  gallons. 

Duty  of  ivate7\ — The  duty  of  water  in  irrigation  of  the  arid  lands 
is  stated  generally  to  be  a  million  gallons  per  twenty-four  hours,  flow- 
ing continuously,  for  100  acres  of  sugar  cane.  Many  soils  require  a 
larger  quantity  of  water  and  a  million  gallons  (or  1.5  second-feet) 
will  irrigate  considerably  less  than  100  acres,  in  some  cases  as  low  as 
60  acres  or  even  less,  where  the  ground  is  excessively  sandy  or  porous. 


NATURAL  ItESOUECES   OF   HAWAII.  17 

The  sugar  cane  is  grown  in  furrows  about  5  feet  apart,  into  which 
water  is  turned  from  the  distributing  ditches.  The  newly  planted 
seed  is  watered  every  three  or  four  daj's.  Later,  water  is  applied  once 
in  ten  to  sixteen  days  if  available.  If  water  can  not  be  had,  the  sugar 
cane  will  continue  for  some  weeks  or  even  months  without  serious 
deterioration,  but  will  not  make  any  notable  growth.  There  is  a 
limit  to  its  endurance,  and  when  once  passed  subsequent  irrigation 
will  not  revive  the  plant.  Sufficient  water  is  applied  to  the  cane  fields 
to  cover  them  to  a  depth  of  from  10  to  12  feet  each  year.  Without 
irrigation  sugar  cane  is  said  to  yield  a  profit  where  the  rain  is  not 
less  than  3  inches  each  month. 

Xot  only  is  water  developed  for  use  in  irrigation,  but  it  is  also 
employed  in  creating  electric  power,  which,  after  transmittal,  is  in 
turn  used  for  pumping  water  for  irrigation.  Large  volumes  are  also 
used  for  conveying  the  ripe  sugar  cane  to  the  mills  from  the  fields 
situated  at  distances  of  several  miles  and  at  several  hundred  feet 
greater  elevation.  INlany  of  the  cane  fields  are  on  steep  slopes,  and 
from  these  it  is  impossible  to  convey  the  cane  at  reasonable  cost  ex- 
cepting by  flowing  water.  The  water  is  conducted  in  V-shaped 
flumes  built  of  so-called  "  northwest  "  lumber  or  Douglas  fir.  The 
California  redwood  is  more  permanent  as  regards  freedom  from 
decay,  but  has  been  found  to  be  too  soft  for  conveying  the  cane,  as 
the  friction  quickly  wears  it  out. 

Pi'ices  of  tcater. — Water  for  irrigation  is  not  generally  sold,  most 
of  the  ditch  systems  having  been  built  by  the  plantations.  In  a  few 
cases  water  not  needed  by  the  plantation  has  been  sold  at  the  rate  of 
from  $6  to  $8  per  million  gallons,  or,  in  round  numbers,  from  $2  to 
$2.50  per  acre-foot. 

For  a  continuous  flow  of  water  the  prices  have  ranged  from  $2,000 
to  $3,G00,  or  even  in  one  case  as  high  as  $G,250  per  annmn  per  million 
gallons  per  twenty-four  hours  of  continuous  discharge.  This  is  at  the 
rate,  in  round  numbers,  of  $1,100  to  $2,100  up  to  $1,000  per  cubic  foot 
per  second,  a  price  which  would  be  prohibitory  in  the  arid  region  of 
the  United  States,  as  on  a  basis  of  100  acres  to  the  second-foot  this 
would  be  an  annual  charge  of  $11  to  $21  or  $10  per  acre.  The  highest 
charge  known  on  the  mainland,  excepting  in  extraordinary  emergen- 
cies to  save  an  orchard,  is  rarely  above  $5  a  year  per  acre. 

IRRIGATION  DEVELOPMENT. 

There  are  now  under  irrigation,  mainly  in  sugar  cane,  about  110,000 
acres.  The  investment  in  ditches,  tunnels,  reservoirs,  pumps,  etc, 
amounts  to  over  $15,000,000,  or  at  a  rate  of  about  $110  per  acre.  The 
older  ditches — some  in  rock  tunnel — were  begun  by  the  natives  in 
prehistoric  times.  The  latter  larger  works  have  been  built  mainly 
by  the  sugar  planters. 

Irrigation  development  in  the  islands  differs  widely  from  that  on 
the  mainland  in  the  character  of  construction  and  cost  per  unit  of 
water  handled.  On  the  mainland  the  greater  part  of  the  water  is 
taken  from  perennial  streams  and  carried  in  broad,  shallow  canals 
having  a  capacity  of  several  hundred  cubic  feet  per  second.  On  the 
islands  most  of  the  water  is  taken  from  very  small  streams.  The 
ditches  head  in  high  and  exceedingly  rough  mountain  regions,  the 

S.  Doc.  GGS,  GO-2 2 


18  NATUEAL  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 

ridges  being  so  narrow  and  the  slopes  so  steep  that  the  water  is  con- 
veyed Largely  in  tunnels.  The  tendency  is  more  and  more  to  do  a\vay 
with  open  ditches,  and  practically  honeycomb  the  catchment  region 
with  underground  works. 

Storage  reservoirs  on  the  islands  are  small  compared  with  those  on 
the  mainland.  There  are  no  large  natural  basins  adapted  to  holding 
water.  In  most  cases  the  underlying  rock,  consisting  of  lava,  is  very 
porous,  and  water  is  held  only  by  the  relatively  thin  layer  of  soil  on 
top  of  the  lava,  in  which  there  is  usually  little  or  no  clay.  On  the 
island  of  Hawaii  considerable  difficulty  has  been  experienced,  as  the 
soil  of  the  basins  there  used  as  reservoirs  has  been  penetrated  by 
roots,  which,  decaying,  form  almost  innumerable  passages  from  the 
surface  to  the  porous  lava.  Water  may  stand  in  such  a  reservoir  at 
a  depth  of  say  10  feet  without  serious  loss,  but  when  the  height  is 
increased  to  say  15  feet  many  holes  will  develop.  Attempts  have 
been  made  to  pack  the  soil  by  turning  in  cattle  and  sheep,  in  the  hopes 
that  the  constant  tramping  will  close  all  openings.  Expensive  tests 
have  also  been  made  of  various  ways  of  plowing  the  soil  and  subsoil 
and  compacting  this  by  heavy  rollers  or  hammers.  In  each  case, 
although  temporary  relief  has  been  had,  the  increase  of  pressure  on 
the  reservoir  has  resulted  in  breaking  through  the  earthy  lining.  The 
cost  of  completely  stripping  the  reservoirs  and  of  relining  them  is 
practically  prohibitory. 

Pumping  water  for  irrigation  has  been  developed  on  the  islands  to 
an  extent  far  in  excess  of  anything  in  the  United  States,  over  GO  per 
cent  of  the  water  used  on  plantations  being  pumped.  On  the  main- 
land a  height  of  30  or  40  feet  is  considered  for  most  crops  the  limit, 
but  in  the  islands  with  higher  crop  values  pumping  to  10  times  this 
height  is  not  unusual.  Much  valuable  experience  has  been  obtained 
as  a  result  of  experiments  made  on  a  large  scale  with  various  forms 
of  pumping  apparatus.  The  direct-acting,  slow-moving  pump  has 
been  generally  done  away  with,  and  most  of  the  new  pumps  are  of 
the  relatively' high  speed,  fly-wheel  type,  with  triple  expansion  cylin- 
ders and  piston  velocity  up  to  500  feet  per  second.  These  elevate 
water  to  a  height  of  a  little  under  200  feet  up  to  a  maximum  of  550 
feet,  at  a  cost  of  approximately  $7.85  per  million  gallons  (or  $2.50 
per  acre-foot)  for  100-foot  lift^  For  different  heights  the  costs  are 
given  as  follows  per  million  gallons : 

Cost  of  pumping,  per  mUUon  gallons."' 

100-foot  lift $".  85 

200-foot  lift 11.  57 

250-foot  lift 13.  44 

300-foot  lift 15.  30 

350-foot  lift 17. 17 

There  are  reported  to  be  111  pumps  in  operation,  with  a  capacity 
of  580  million  gallons  for  twenty-four  hours,  or  900  second-feet,  sup- 
plying about  60,000  acres  of  land,  about  a  million  gallons  to  100 
acres  or  1  second-foot  to  64  acres.  One  acre  requires  about  5  million 
gallons  or  15  acre-feet  to  produce  a  crop. 

The  following  paragraphs  give  some  of  the  more  striking  details 
of  the  irrigation  works  now  in  use: 

Hawaii. — On  the  largest  island  of  the  group,  Hawaii,  having  an 
area  of  over  4,000  square  miles,  there  is  a  much  larger  proportion  of 

"  Planters  Monthly,  October,  1904,  p.  417. 


NATURAL  EESOURCES   OF   HAWAII.  19 

cultivated  land  depending  directly  on  rainfall  than  on  the  other 
islands.  Of  the  six  districts  in  which  the  island  is  divided,  there  is 
only  one,  that  embracing  the  greater  part  of  the  Koliala  Mountains, 
in  wliich  irrigation  construction  has  reached  a  considerable  degree 
of  completeness.  On  the  windward  side,  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  the  Hamakua  coast,  and  especially  in  the  Hilo  district,  there 
is  an  abundance  of  rainfall,  and  the  principal  use  of  water  by  the 
sugar  plantations  is  in  conveying  sugar  cane  from  the  fields  to  the 
mills.  In  Puna  the  rainfall  is  also  usually  sufficient  for  crops.  The 
westward  or  Kona  side  of  the  island,  although  protected  from  the 
trade  wind,  has  considerable  rainfall,  this  being  due  probably  to 
the  fact  that  the  great  height  of  Mauna  Loa  gives  rise  to  local  pre- 
cipitation independent  in  part  of  the  typical  island  conditions. 

In  the  district  of  Kau,  on  the  extreme  southern  side  of  the  island, 
water  has  been  developed  mainly  for  use  in  fiuming  sugar  cane  by 
means  of  tunnels  driven  into  the  forested  slopes  at  altitudes  of  about 
4,000  feet.  There  is  not  a  sufficient  precipitation  to  form  perennial 
streams  similar  to  those  on  the  Hamakua  side,  but  there  are  innumer- 
able marshes  or  soft  places  where  small  quantities  of  water  can  be 
collected  by  tunnels  driven  a  short  distance  beneath  the  surface.  It 
has  been  found  as  a  rule  that  deep  tunnels  do  not  obtain  any  con- 
siderable increase  of  water  over  those  that  penetrate  to  a  horizontal 
depth  from  about  100  feet  to  150  feet. 

Along  the  seashore,  especially  near  Punulua.  are  many  fresh-water 
springs,  resulting  from  the  fact  that  most  of  the  rainfall  on  this  side 
of  the  island  penetrates  beneath  the  surface  and,  gathering  presum- 
ably in  volcanic  pipes  or  tunnels,  finds  its  way  to  sea  level.  Many 
attempts  have  been  made  to  trace  the  course  of  these  underground  or 
percolating  waters,  but  with  little  success.  It  is  believed,  however, 
that  the  value  of  the  water  is  such  as  to  justify  further  systematic 
search  carried  on  under  the  guidance  of  a  competent  geologist  and 
engineer.  It  is  probable  that  no  investment  will  yield  larger  returns 
to  the  plantations  than  a  small  amount  of  money  systematically  ex- 
pended under  competent  guidance  through  a  number  of  years. 

In  the  extreme  northern  part  of  the  island  in  the  Kohala  Mountains 
there  has  been  considerable  activity  in  ditch  construction.  Here  are 
found  also  prehistoric  ditches  popularly  said  to  have  been  built  by 
Kamehameha  I,  but  probably  antedating  his  time.  The  excavation  of 
the  solid  rock  in  the  process  of  tunnel  building  is  especially  notable 
because  of  the  fact  that  this  was  done  by  stone  implements,  the  rock 
being  presumably  first  disintegrated  by  fire. 

Most  of  the  water  occurs  at  or  near  the  summit  of  the  Kohala 
Mountains  and  on  the  northeastern  or  windward  slope.  This  has 
been  deeply  cut,  forming  great  canyons  or  gulches  with  nearly  vertical 
sides.  There  has  recently  been  built  two  water-supply  systems,  one 
known  as  the  Kohala  ditch,  extending  northwesterly  parallel  with 
the  coast  and  capable  of  extension  to  reach  arid  lands  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Kohala  Mountains;  the  other  s^'stem  consisting  of  the 
upper  and  lower  Hamakua  ditches  extending  easterly  and  southerly 
toward  the  Hamakua  district. 

Kohala  ditch. —  fhis  ditch,  completed  in  January,  190G,  supplies 
water  for  the  Kohala  plantations,  in  the  extreme  northerly  part  of 
the  island  of  Hawaii.    It  receives  the  water  at  an  elevation  of  1,030 


20  NATURAL   EESOUECES   OF   HAWAII. 

feet  from  Honokane  and  adjoining  streams.  In  ordinary  seasons  it 
carried  about  20  million  gallons  per  day,  and  lias  an  extreme  capacity 
of  TO  million  gallons.  The  flow  of  1907  varied  from  a  maximum  of 
30  million  gallons  in  July  to  a  minimum  of  about  10  million  gallons 
in  November.  For  a  great  part  of  its  length  it  is  in  tunnels,  there 
being  44  of  these,  7  feet  high  and  8  feet  wide.  Fourteen  miles  of 
ditch  have  been  built  out  of  21  miles  projected.  The  cost  is  estimated 
at  $600,000. 

Vfyer  Hamahua  ditch. — This  heads  in  the  Kohala  Mountains, 
about  5  miles  south  of  the  head  of  the  Kohala  ditch,  and  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  about  4,000  feet.  It  receives  water  from  several  small  streams 
before  these  fall  over  the  palies  or  cliffs  into  the  Waipio  Valley.  It 
continues,  by  a  series  of  tunnels  and  semicircular  steel  flume  running 
along  the  upper  edge  of  the  palies,  through  the  forest  reserve  and 
easterly  to  the  open  country,  where  a  series  of  small  reservoirs  are 
being  constructed.  The  total  length  is  23  miles.  The  flow  is  11 
million  gallons  per  day,  and  the  capacity  of  the  reservoirs  350  million 
gallons.    The  cost  was  about  $300,000. 

Lotoer  Hamahua  ditch. — This  ditch  heads  near  the  intake  of  the 
ujDper  Hamakua  ditch,  but  about  3,000  feet  lower.  It  receives  water 
from  springs  and  also  a  small  quantity  from  the  surplus  left  b}^  the 
upper  ditch.  Its  tunnels  are  in  a  general  way  parallel  to  the  upper 
ditch  covering  the  lower  part  of  the  same  plantations;  flow,  65  to  70 
million  gallons  per  day ;  cost,  $800,000. 

Maui. — The  principal  sources  of  w^ater  on  this  island  are  on  the 
northeastern  side,  on  the  windward  or  Koolau  district.  Here,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Hamakua  coast  on  Hawaii,  the  rainfall  retained  for 
a  time  in  the  marshy  forested  area  soon  finds  its  way  into  the  deep 
canyons  which  run  back  from  the  coast.  A  number  of  ditches  have 
been  built,  intercepting  waters  of  the  small  streams  and  taking  these 
out  by  means  of  tunnels  carrying  the  water  northwesterly  to  the 
depression  or  low-lying  plain  which  lies  between  the  two  great 
mountain  masses  which  make  the  island.  Here  the  climatic  condi- 
tions are  such  as  to  render  sugar  cane  highly  productive.  The 
earlier  ditches  took  water  out  at  elevations  of  about  200  feet,  but  later 
and  more  complete  sj'stems  bring  it  to  higher  altitudes. 

The  western  portion  of  this  depression  is  also  supplied  with  water 
from  the  mountain  region  of  west  Maui. 

The  earliest  ditch  on  Maui,  known  as  the  Hamakua  ditch,  was 
built  by  H.  P.  Baldwin  in  1878  to  take  water  for  the  Haiku  and 
neighboring  plantations.  The  next  year  another  ditch,  known  as 
the  Haiku  ditch,  was  built  in  the  same  section  by  Claus  Spreckels, 
to  take  water  to  the  vicinity  of  Spreckelsville.  This  is  about  20 
miles  long,  has  a  capacity  of  50  million  gallons  daily,  and  delivers 
water  at  an  elevation  of  250  feet.  This  ditch  was  later  supplemented 
by  the  Lowrie  ditch,  built  in  1900,  delivering  water  at  an  elevation  of 
450  feet. 

Lowrie  ditch. — This  is  one  of  the  earlier  ditches  on  the  island  of 
Maui.  It  was  completed  in  September,  1900,  with  a  capacity  of  60 
million  gallons.  Its  total  length  is  22  miles,  of  wdiich  4  miles  con- 
sist of  tunnels,  1  mile  of  flumes,  and  17  miles  of  open  cut.  In 
ditches  built  at  a  later  date  the  proportion  of  tunnels  has  been  in- 
creased, as  the  experience  with  this  ditch  has  shown  that  greater 


NATURAL   RESOURCES    OF    HAWAII.  21 

economy  is  secured  b}'  keeping  the  ditch  under  ground  as  far  as 
possible. 

The  ditch  heads  at  Kailua  at  the  same  point  with  the  older  Haiku 
ditch.  The  latter  delivers  water  in  the  vicinity  of  Spreckelsville 
at  an  altitude  of  200  feet,  while  the  Lowrie  ditch  delivers  it  at  an 
altitude  of  457  feet.  The  total  cost  is  approximately  $-250,000. 
Several  siphons  have  been  built  with  a  diameter  of  4-t  inches.  The 
total  area  irrigated  is  G.OOO  acres. 

Koolau  ditch. — This  was  built  for  the  Hawaiian  Commercial  and 
Sugar  Company,  suj^plying  water  to  the  Haiku  and  Paia  planta- 
tions. It  was  completed  in  1904.  It  is  10  miles  long  of  which 
nearly  8  miles  are  in  tunnels.  There  are  38  of  these.  They  are  7  feet 
high  with  a  maximum  width  of  8  feet.  The  daily  capacity  is  85 
million  gallons.  It  takes  water  from  the  Xahiku  rain  belt  at  an 
elevation  of  1,250  feet  and  discharges  into  the  lower  older  ditches. 
The  tunneis  were  excavated  by  Japanese  working  with  hand  drills, 
and  the  finished  cost  was  about  $7  per  linear  foot.  The  cost  was 
approximately^  about  $315,000. 

yVaUiee  Canal. — This  takes  water  from  the  Waihee  stream  and  car- 
ries it  to  the  sugar  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Wailuku  on  the  island  of 
Maui.  The  head  is  at  an  altitude  of  650  feet  and  on  the  stream  at  a 
distance  of  2|  miles  from  the  ocean.  The  total  length  is  about  10 
miles,  of  which  over  3  miles  is  in  tunnels,  numbering  22,  with  a 
height  of  Gi  feet  and  greatest  width  of  about  6^  feet.  There  are  also 
39  flumes.  This  ditch  is  225  feet  above  the  level  of  the  old  Waihee 
ditch.  Starting  from  a  dam  in  the  Waihee  stream,  the  ditch  passes 
along  the  south  bank  and  into  a  series  of  tunnels  to  the  north  bank 
of  the  lao  Valley,  back  of  the  town  of  Wailuku ;  this  valley  is  crossed 
by  an  inverted  siphon.  The  water  is  then  conveyed  to  new  cane  lands 
near  Waikapu  and  Puuhele,  where  there  are  located  several  reser- 
voirs. The  steel  pipe  crossing  lao  A'alley  is  1,250  feet  in  length  and  3 
feet  inside  diameter.  The  capacity  is  45  million  gallons  per  day,  or 
about  70  second-feet.    The  cost  was  about  $160,000. 

Ilonolialiaii  difcJi. — This  ditch,  on  West  Maui,  has  a  capacity  of 
30  million  gallons  daily;  it  is  13^  miles  long  and  has  200  feet  of 
36-inch  siphon  pipe  and  3^  miles  of  tunnels.  It  cost  $185,000,  and 
delivers  water  at  700  feet  elevation.  It  takes  water  from  the  Hono- 
kahau  Valley  to  the  cane  fields  in  the  vicinity  of  Lahaina. 

MoLOKAi. — An  attempt  was  made  about  1900  to  develop  water  for 
irngation  for  the  lands  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  by  means  of 
artesian  wells.  Large  expenditures  were  incurred  in  erecting  pumps, 
laying  out  cane  fields,  building  a  railroad,  and  putting  up  buildings, 
but  after  the  pumping  plant  was  installed  it  was  found  that  the 
water  obtained  was  too  brackish  for  irrigation.  The  work  was  at 
once  abandoned  without,  apparently,  testing  the  limits  of  supply. 
The  water  resources  of  the  island  have  been  reported  upon  by  Wal- 
demar  Lindgren,  an  abstract  of  his  report  being  printed  as  "  Water- 
Supply  Paper  No.  77  "  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 

Oahu. — The  principal  part  of  the  water  supply  comes  from  the 
Koolau  Range  on  the  windward  or  northeasterly  side  of  the  island. 
The  amount  obtained  from  relatively  small  forest-covered  areas  is 
remarkably  large.  There  is  also  a  very  heavy  artesian  flow  obtained 
on  the  southerly  side  of  the  island,  where  there  are  found  a  number 
of  large  springs.    The  water  rises  in  the  artesian  wells  from  25  to 


22  NATURAL  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 

35  feet  above  sea  level.  It  is  pumped  to  altitudes  as  high  as  500  feet 
above  sea  level.  The  aggregate  yield  of  all  the  wells  on  the  island 
is  roughly  estimated  at  300  cubic  feet  per  second. 

Several  storage  reservoirs  have  been  built,  the  most  notable  of 
which  is  that  at  Wahiawa.  A  dam  136  feet  high  and  4G1  feet  long" 
has  been  built  below  the  junction  of  the  forks  of  the  Kaukonahau 
stream,  and  forms  a  narrow,  winding  lake  extending  for  7  miles 
through  the  fields  of  the  Wahiawa  Colony.  The  total  drainage  area 
above  the  lake  is  8,000  acres,  located  on  the  slope  of  the  Koolau  Moun- 
tains. The  capacity  of  the  reservoir  is  2,500  million  gallons,  or  about 
7,500  acre-feet.  The  cost  was  $300,000.  Water  is  used  for  the  Waia- 
lua  plantation,  the  outlet  of  the  reservoir  extending  through  4  miles 
of  ditch  and  tunnels  and  issuing  on  the  sugar  lands  at  an  elevation 
of  730  feet  above  sea  level.  This  ditch  brings  12,000  acres  of  cane 
land  under  gravity  flow.  The  altitude  of  the  reservoir  is  about»l,000 
feet.  The  water  is  sold  at  the  rate  of  $6.17  per  million  gallonSj  and 
is  measured  by  automatic  registers. 

Water  for  the  Wahiawa  land  is  not  obtained  from  this  reservoir, 
but  by  a  ditch  system  at  a  higher  altitude,  taking  water  from  the 
Koolau  Mountains  through  4  miles  of  main  ditch,  including  38  tun- 
nels. This  ditch  was  used  during  the  construction  of  the  dam  for 
sluicing  earth.  It  not  only  supplies  water  to  the  colony  lands,  but 
will  be  used  for  power  purposes,  the  surplus  flowing  into  the  reservoir. 

Kauai. — The  greater  part  of  the  water  supply  of  this  island  comes 
from  the  high  mountain  or  plateau  on  the  north  side.  The  fall  of 
the  streams  is  very  rapid,  there  being  many  localities  where  power 
has  been  and  can  be  developed. 

Beginning  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  island  and  extending  east- 
erly around  the  island,  the  principal  works  for  supplying  water  are 
as  follows : 

Kekaha  ditch  takes  its  water  from  Waimea  River,  8  miles  from 
the  sea,  at  about  550  feet  elevation.  It  passes  through  a  series  of 
tunnels  and  crosses  Waimea  Valley  by  means  of  an  inverted  siphon 
of  48  and  42-inch  diameter,  2,190  feet  long.  The  tunnels  are  6  feet 
high  and  8  feet  wide,  and  have  an  aggregate  length  of  nearly  2  miles. 
The  ditch  has  a  capacity  of  55  million  gallons  per  day  above  the 
siphon  and  45  million  gallons  below.  The  water  supplying  the  low- 
land is  used  to  develop  750  horsepower.  Other  drops  can  also  be 
utilized.    The  total  cost  was  $275,000. 

Waimea  River  also  supplies  the  town  of  Waimea  by  a  conduit 
having  a  capacity  of  6  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  Makaweli  lands  are  supplied  by  two  ditches,  the  first  the  Hana- 
pepe,  built  by  H.  P.  Baldwin  in  1890,  taking  water  from  the  stream 
of  that  name;  the  second  the  Olokele  ditch,  built  in  1903.  The  Hana- 
pepe  ditch  delivers  water  on  the  plantation  at  an  elevation  of  450  feet. 
It  has  over  7,000  feet  of  40-inch  riveted  steel  siphon,  over  1,000  feet 
of  tunnel,  and  nearly  3  miles  of  flume  in  a  total  length  of  10  miles, 
of  ditch.  The  capacity  of  the  Hanapepe  is  35  million  gallons.  The 
Olokele  ditch  delivers  water  at  an  altitude  of  1,075  feet  and  has  a 
capacity  of  60  million  gallons.  It  has  8  miles  of  tunnel  7  feet  high 
and  7  feet  wide.  The  total  cost  was  $360,000.  A  droj)  has  been  ob- 
tained for  use  for  electrical  power;  reservoirs  have  been  built  to 
regulate  the  supply. 


NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII.  23 

The  McBryde  plantation  has  several  storage  reservoirs  for  storm 
water  with  a  permanent  flow  from  mountain  streams.  The  principal 
supply,  however,  is  pumped  from  wells  by  power  obtained  from  a 
hydro-electric  j)lant  on  the  Waniha  River  on  the  north  side  of  the 
island.  This  was  finished  in  August,  1906,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
notable  developments  in  the  Territory.  The  power  canal  heads  at 
an  elevation  of  710  feet  and  extends  with  a  fall  of  2  feet  in  a  thou- 
sand for  a  distance  of  about  7  miles  at  an  altitude  of  G55  feet.  There 
are  32  tunnels  6  feet  wide  and  G  feet  high,  the  total  length  of  these 
being  a  little  over  3  miles. 

At  the  end  of  the  power  ditch  there  are  two  42-inch  outlets  having 
a  length  of  1,700  feet  and  dropping  from  an  altitude  of  G55  feet  to  90 
feet  above  sea  level.  The  pipe  tapers  to  30  inches  where  it  enters  the 
power  house.  The  Avater  is  delivered  against  two  Pelton  wheels, 
direct  connected  to  two  1,200-kilowat  generators.  From  the  power 
house  power  is  transmitted  over  a  j)ole  line  35  miles  long,  practically 
encircling  the  island  and  leading  to  the  pumps  of  the  McBryde 
plantation.  Power  is  generated  at  2,200  volts  and  transmitted  at 
33,000  volts,  aluminum  wire  being  used.  The  efficiency  of  the  appa- 
ratus has  been  estimated  as  follows:  Water  wheel  80  to  83  per  cent, 
generator  95  per  cent,  step-up  transformers  97  per  cent,  line  92  per 
cent,  step-down  transformers  97  per  cent,  and  motors  92  per  cent. 
Taking  this  into  account  the  amount  of  power  actually  delivered  35 
miles  awa3'*is  Gl  per  cent  of  the  theoretical  jDower  in  the  water.  With 
an  efficiency  of  7G  per  cent  from  the  pumps  the  total  water  which  can 
be  delivered  will  be  -IG  per  cent  of  tiie  actual  water  flowing  into  the 
Y>ipe  line  above  the  power  house.     (See  also  page  2G.) 

AVhat  is  known  as  the  Marsh  reservoir  of  the  Koloa  plantation  has 
a  capacity  of  approximately  1,500  million  gallons,  or  4,500  acre-feet. 
It  is  located  in  the  southern  part  of  the  island  of  Kauai,  and  receives 
water  mainly  from  storms  on  the  drainage  basin  of  the  river,  in- 
creased by  water  brought  by  the  Wilcox  ditch  from  Kuia  River  in 
Lihue.  This  has  a  capacity  of  80  million  gallons  per  twenty-four 
hours.  The  cost  of  construction  of  this  reservoir  and  feed  ditches 
was  a  little  over  $100,000.  The  annual  cost  of  maintenance  of  the 
system,  including  loss  of  crop  from  the  land  covered  Ijv  the  reservoir, 
is  $16,000. 

On  the  easterly  side  of  Kauai,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lihue,  in  Kapaa, 
and  adjoining  lands,  water  for  irrigation  is  derived  from  small 
mountain  streams,  several  storage  reservoirs  having  been  built  for 
regulating  this. 

RECLAIMABLE    LAXDS. 

The  impression  derived  from  a  general  examination  of  lands  and 
waters  on  the  islands  leads  to  the  belief  that  there  are  excellent  op- 
portunities for  reclamation  of  public  and  private  lands  suitable  for 
homestead  purposes.  The  sugar  companies  have,  as  a  rule,  already 
irrigated  most  of  the  lands  suitable  for  the  production  of  cane,  but 
there  are  considerable  tracts  of  other  lands  not  as  well  adapted  to 
sugar  cane  which  will  have  a  great  value  when  water  is  brought  to 
them  and  they  are  intelligently  cultivated.  It  is  not  practicable  nor 
would  it  be  desirable  to  attempt  to  point  out  at  this  time  any  par- 
ticular localities,  but  sufficient  has  been  seen  to  justify  a  thorough 


24  NATUEAL  EESOUECES   OF   HAWAII. 

survey  and  examination  such  as  would  result  from  the  making  of  a 
topographic  map,  the  measurement  of  streams,  and  the  combining  of 
the  facts  thus  obtained  with  necessary  engineering  data. 

It  is  probable  that  over  100,000  acres  of  land  now  practically  use- 
less or  furnishing  only  indifferent  grazing  can  be  reclaimed.  Any 
estimates  at  the  present  time  must  be  mere  guesses,  as  there  are  no 
general  data  on  the  water  supply  available  or  the  opportunities  for 
storing  floods.  On  this  basis,  however,  it  would  be  possible  to  furnish 
5,000  farms  having  an  average  size  of  20  acres  each.  This  would  be 
ample  for  most  purposes,  although  in  some  instances  the  area  of  the 
farm  should  be  larger,  in  others  smaller.  In  laying  out  these  farm 
units,  they  would  probably  include,  besides  an  average  of  20  acres  of 
irrigated  land,  an  additional  area  not  irrigated,  but  suitable  for 
other  agricultural  purposes,  such  as  pasture  and  places  for  buildings. 

On  this  basis  there  would  be  added  to  the  population  of  the  Terri- 
tory at  least  20,000  persons,  including  5,000  land-owning  voters. 

Before  any  comprehensive  system  of  reclamation  can  be  wisely 
undertaken,  either  under  territorial  or  federal  auspices,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  bring  together  all  available  data,  and  with  these  as  a 
basis  to  take  up  systematically  the  collection  of  knowledge  of  the 
surface  elevations  and  of  the  water  supply;  in  other  words,  it  is 
essential  to  have  a  good  contoured  topographic  map  of  the  islands 
such  as  that  being  made  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 
throughout  the  arid  regions.  Such  a  map,  showing  all  elevations  of 
the  surface,  the  location  of  streams,  and  the  position  of  the  forested 
areas,  gives  at  a  glance  the  outline  of  the  catchment  of  the  streams, 
the  position  and  size  of  natural  reservoir  sites,  and  other  facts  needed 
in  a  general  cognizance  and  broad  understanding  of  the  relative 
position  of  the  mountains,  the  streams,  and  the  irrigable  lands. 
There  are,  of  course,  other  engineering  data  which  must  be  studied 
and  obtained  by  subsequent  field  examination,  but  the  topographic 
map  is  the  basis  on  which  general  j)lans  must  rest. 

Coordinate  with  the  making  of  a  good  contour  map  should  be  car- 
ried on  the  systematic  examination  of  the  w^ater  resources.  Much 
valuable  information  has  already  been  brought  together  by  indi- 
viduals and  corporations  in  connection  with  the  proposed  develop- 
ment of  specific  areas.  Much  of  this  material  can  doubtless  be  had 
by  official  inquiry,  but  it  must  be  supplemented  by  further  and  more 
general  investigation.  It  should  be  rounded  out  by  studies  relating 
to  all  of  the  streams,  as  well  as  those  now  known  to  be  needed  for 
particular  tracts  of  land. 

Work  of  this  kind  has  been  conducted  systematically  since  1888  by 
the  water-resources  branch  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 
under  general  authority  of  law  to  investigate  the  extent  to  which  the 
arid  regions  can  be  reclaimed  and  under  specific  appropriations  for 
such  work.  The  same  system  should  be  extended  on  this  territory 
of  the  United  States. 

Through  the  information  thus  given  by  a  contour  map  and  by  data 
on  stream  flow,  it  will  be  possible  to  make  broad  and  comprehensive 
plans  for  development  of  waters  by  tunnels,  by  storage  reservoirs, 
by  pumping,  or  other  means.  These  plans,  not  confined  to  any  par- 
ticular tract  of  land,  will  necessarily  be  somewhat  ideal  in  character, 
but  once  having  the  ideal  system  fully  in  mind  it  will  then  be  practi- 
cable to  fit  this  system  in  part  at  least  to  existing  conditions  of  vested 


NATURAL   EESOUECES   OF    HAWAII.  25 

rights  in  lands  or  Avaters.  Experience  on  the  mainhmd  has  shown 
that,  having  a  broad,  comprehensive  project,  it  has  been  possible  to 
adjust  the  various  difficulties  or  complications  of  vested  rights  and  to 
secure  a  favorable  outcome  without  recourse  to  condemnation  or  any 
form  or  force  other  than  the  pressure  of  enlightened  public  opinion. 
With  the  knowledge  at  hand  it  is  apparent  that  there  are  excess  or 
flood  waters  and  some  reservoir  sites  not  yet  utilized,  and  various 
tracts  of  public  and  private  land  which  can  be  reclaimed,  but  to  de- 
termine Avhether  these  particular  localities  are  the  best  there  must  be 
a  broad  survey  or  general  "  taking  account  of  stock." 

WATER   RIGHTS. 

On  the  mainland  two  distinct  systems  are  recognized  as  regards 
ownership  and  control  of  the  flowing  waters :  First,  that  in  the  east- 
ern humid  States,  where  riparian  rights  prevail  and  where  each  land- 
owner is  entitled  to  enjoy  in  perpetuity  the  flow  of  streams  along  or 
through  his  land,  undiminished  in  quantity  and  quality;  second,  in 
the  arid  States,  where  water  is  the  basis  of  all  land  values  and  where 
the  doctrine  of  appropriation  prevails. 

In  the  most  advanced  stage  of  the  theory  of  appropriation,  the 
ownership  of  all  flowing  water  resides  in  the  people.  Any  individual 
can  lay  claim  to  unappropriated  water,  and  having  put  it  to  beneficial 
use  is  thereafter  entitled  to  continue  that  use.  The  first  in  time  is 
first  in  right,  and  beneficial  use  is  the  basis,  the  measure,  and  the  limit 
of  that  right.  Position  on  a  stream  or  away  from  it  confers  no  bene- 
fits, as  a  prior  appropriator,  located  near  the  lower  end  of  the  stream 
or  10  miles  away  from  it,  can  compel  persons  above  him  or  nearer  the 
stream  to  permit  the  water  to  pass  by  them  untouched. 

In  the  Hawaiian  Islands  a  system  radically  diflerent  from  either 
of  these  has  grown  up,  largely  as  the  result  of  ancient  usage.  There 
water  is  considered  as  appurtenant  to  the  land  upon  which  it  orig- 
inates and  as  belonging  to  the  owner  of  that  piece  of  land.  He  may 
lease  it  or  sell  it  separate  from  the  land  itself,  and  may  convey  it  to 
distant  tracts  of  land,  subject,  however,  to  any  vested  rights  which 
may  come  down  from  ancient  times  or  more  recently  have  been  ac- 
quired by  prescriptive  use,  such,  for  example,  as  the  rights  of  the 
natives  to  the  use  of  the  water  on  their  small  taro  patches.  Riparian 
rights  do  not  appear  to  be  recognized  excepting  for  water  for  domes- 
tic purposes,  nor  does  the  theory  of  appropriation  hold  excepting  in 
the  cases  above  noted  of  ancient  or  prescriptive  rights  which  have 
grown  up  through  the  needs  of  the  people. 

There  is  no  system  in  vogue  of  ascertaining  officially  the  amount  of 
water  available  nor  the  amount  which  has  alreach^  been  claimed  and 
put  to  use.  There  appear  to  be  many  unsettled  questions  which  must 
be  taken  into  consideration  in  advance  of  any  future  general  system 
of  development;  in  fact,  an  essential  preliminary  to  any  thorough 
project  of  utilizing  the  water  resources  of  the  islands  is  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  code  of  water  laws  covering  the  question  of  ownership  and 
control  of  the  flowing  streams  and  of  the  waters  which  may  be  held 
in  storage  reservoirs. 


26  NATUEAL   EESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 

WATER    POWER. 

The  absence  of  coal  and  similar  fuel,  the  limited  supply  of  firewood, 
and  high  price  of  imported  fuels  have  resulted  in  attention  being- 
directed  to  water  as  a  source  of  power  for  pumping  for  irrigation  and 
for  other  incidental  purposes.  A  report  on  the  subject  has  been  pre- 
j^ared  for  the  territorial  conservation  commission  by  Alonzo  Gartley, 
chairman  of  a  connnittee  on  waters.  From  this  report  the  following 
general  facts  have  been  obtained :  Among  other  matters,  it  is  pointed 
out  that  developments  have  already  been  made  which  are  of  con- 
siderable economic  value,  and  there  are  great  possibilities  for  future 
development.  At  the  present  time  practically  all  the  water  power  is 
in  use  generating  electric  power  to  supply  motive  power  for  irrigating 
pumps,  the  most  important  one  being  the  Kauai  Electric  Company 
on  the  island  of  Kauai,  where  two  1,200  kilowatt  generators  are  in- 
stalled in  Wainiha  Valley,  on  the  north  side  of  the  island,  utilizing 
some  40  million  gallons  per  day  (or  60  cubic  feet  per  second)  at  a 
head  of  575  feet.  Power  is  transmitted  35  miles  around  the  island 
to  the  south  side  of  the  McBryde  Sugar  Company's  plantation  and 
there  utilized  in  operating  six  multiple-stage  centrifugal  pumps  di- 
rect-connected to  motors  of  an  aggregate  horsepower  of  4,000.  These 
jDumps  have  a  cajDacity  of  31  million  gallons,  or  45  second-feet,  at  a 
head  of  175  to  400  feet,  thus  serving  to  irrigate  over  3,000  acres  of 
cane.     (See  page  23.) 

At  Kekaha,  Kauai,  water  is  taken  from  a  high-level  irrigating 
ditch  and  dropped  275  feet  to  irrigate  the  low-level  lands.  At  this 
point  a  600-kilowatt  generator  is  installed  to  furnish  power  for  four 
motors  direct-connected  to  multiple-stage  centrifugal  pumps  having 
an  aggregate  horsepower  of  700,  the  pumps  having  a  capacity  of 
7  million  gallons  at  a  head  of  300  feet.  The  water  for  these  pumps 
is  taken  from  an  irrigating  ditch  and  pumped  to  a  level  above  the 
ditch,  thus  rendering  700  acres  of  good  cane  land  available. 

The  Pioneer  Mill  Company,  at  Lahaina,  Maui,  has  installed  a  250- 
kilowatt  generator,  operated  by  water  power,  which  furnishes  current 
for  a  200-horsepower  motor  operating  a  triplex  reciprocating  pump 
which  delivers  9  million  gallons  of  water  against  a  head  of  100  feet. 

The  Oahu  Sugar  Company,  on  the  island  of  Oahu,  takes  water 
from  an  irrigating  pipe  line  and  develops  120  kilowatts  which  sup- 
plies a  100-horsepower  motor  direct -connected  to  a  centrifugal  pump. 

The  Makee  Sugar  Company,  at  Keakia,  Kauai,  has  installed  and  in 
operation  a  300-kilowatt  generator  supplying  current  to  a  225-horse- 
power  motor  operating  a  reciprocating  pump  having  a  capacity  of 
2,8  million  gallons  of  water  against  a  head  of  250  feet. 

The  Waianae  Sugar  Company,  on  the  island  of  Oahu,  has  installed 
two  200-kilowatt  generators  supplying  current  to  motors  of  375  horse- 
power to  pump  6.5  million  gallons  of  water  against  a  head  of  150  to 
280  feet. 

The  Hilo  Electric  Light  Company,  on  the  island  of  Hawaii,  de- 
velops 750  horsepower  to  operate  a  generator  of  an  aggregate  capacity 
of  450  kilowatts  to  supply  light  and  power  for  the  city  of  Hilo. 

The  Territory  of  Hawaii  has  installed  and  has  in  operation  in 
Nuuanu  Valley,  island  of  Oahu,  water-power-driven  generators  of 
400  kilowatts  capacity  for  supplying  arc  lights  and  territorial  govern- 
ment lighting  in  the  city  of  Honolulu. 


NATURAL  EESOURCES   OF   HAWAII.  27 

There  are  several  small  water-power  developments  in  mills  varying 
from  10  to  50  horsepower  which  are  used  for  operating  machinery  or 
electric  generators. 

The  aggregate  of  these  developments  is  approximately  6,500  horse- 
power. 

It  is  impossible  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  prospective  power 
development,  and  at  best  only  a  few  can  be  mentioned.  These  are 
such  powers  as  have  been  rendered  available  through  partial  devel- 
opments made  for  irrigating  purposes,  or  where  the  possibilities  are 
self-evident.  The  conservation  and  development  of  water  at  high 
levels  for  irrigating  purposes  will  render  many  other  plants  both 
possible  and  expedient.  A  close  approximation  of  the  ultimate  i^os- 
sibilities  can  only  be  made  when  complete  survej^s  of  the  watersheds, 
records  of  the  rainfall,  and  the  cost  and  economic  value  of  the 
developments  are  obtained. 

The  island  of  Kauai  presents  a  fertile  field  for  future  development, 
and  there  are  at  the  present  time  some  2,000  horsepower  additional 
at  Wainiha  which  is  not  being  utilized ;  possibly  4,000  horsepower  at 
Hanalei;  and  1,500  or  1,800  horsepower  at  Makaweli;  500  or  600 
horsepower  at  Hanaj^epe,  and  by  the  development  of  reservoirs 
back  at  Waimea,  Wahiawa,  Koloa,  Wailua,  Kapaa,  Anahola,  and 
Kalihiwai  several  hundred  horsepower  can  be  made  available. 

On  the  island  of  Oahu  possibly  2,000  horsepower  can  be  developed 
at  Wahiawa  and  from  the  new  high-level  reservoir  in  Xuuanu 
\'alley. 

On  Maui  the  Hawaiian  Commercial  and  Sugar  Company  at  Kanai 
and  in  lao  Valley  can  develop  about  2,500  horsepower;  and  there  are 
several  hundred  horsepower  available  at  "Waihee  in  the  development 
of  the  Wailuku  Sugar  Company.  Some  1,200  horsepower  could  be 
rendered  available  at  Lahaina  from  the  development  of  the  Pioneer 
Mill  Company. 

The  power  resources  of  the  island  of  Molokai  are  practically  un- 
determined. 

On  the  island  of  Hawaii  it  is  estimated  that  in  the  AYaipio  Gulch 
some  8,000  horsepower  can  be  rendered  available  by  the  present  irri- 
gating-ditch  development,  and  on  the  north  coast  from  Waipio  to 
Hilo  there  are  large  quantities  of  water  going  to  waste,  or  in  use  for 
fluming  cane,  Avhich  could  be  developed.  Xo  estimate  of  the  amount 
of  this  power  is  available,  but  it  would  amount  to  several  hundred 
horsepower. 

Storage  capacitj^  constructed  in  the  Kohala  Mountain  would  ren- 
der power  available,  but  at  present  the  quantity  is  entirely  undeter- 
mined. 

At  many  places  the  permanency  of  the  flowing  streams  is  not 
assured,  but  the  development  of  storage  capacity  would  render  the 
power  secure,  and  in  manj^  cases  would  increase  the  estimate  of  the 
amount  available.  However,  the  broken  character  of  the  country 
Avhere  these  powers  are  available  and  the  limited  amount  of  arable 
land  and  water  available  for  this  land  make  the  economic  value  of 
the  development  of  these  powers  questionable. 

The  production  of  fertilizers  from  atmospheric  nitrogen  by  the  use 
of  electricity  may  render  the  water  power  extremely  valuable  at  such 
places  where  the  power  can  not  be  used  for  pumping  Avater  for  irri- 
gating purposes. 


28  NATURAL.  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 

FOREST    PRESERVATION. 

''The  primary  need  for  forest  preservation  on  the  islands  arises  from 
the  fact  that  the  permanent  water  suppl}'  comes  mainly  from  forest 
areas,  and  its  quantity  and  time  of  occurrence  is  vitally  affected  by 
the  character  of  the  forest.  There  is  probably  no  part  of  the  United 
States  where  the  relations  between  available  Avaters  and  forest  cover 
are  more  intimate  and  more  delicate.  The  natural  balance  is  easily 
disturbed.  Changes  made  by  man,  too  slight  to  be  noticed  by  ordi- 
nary observation,  have  produced  disastrous  results. 

The  island  forests  have  use  as  furnishing  a  wood  supply  and  some 
commercial  timber,  but,  speaking  broadly,  nine-tenths  of  the  value 
of  the  forest  resides  in  its  protection  of  the  water  supj^ly.  The  rapid 
diminution  in  area  of  the  forest  has  led  to  corresponding  decrease 
in  available  waters  and  to  the  abandonment  of  hundreds  of  acres 
formerly  cultivated,  but  now  barren  of  vegetation. 

The  retreat  of  the  forest  has  been  due  primarily  to  unregulated 
grazing.  Cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  tramping  through  the  forest  eating 
some  of  the  underbrush  jDroduce  a  condition  which,  although  hardly 
\isible  to  the  eye,  is  unfavorable  to  the  best  growth  of  the  forest. 
"With  weakened  vitality  the  trees  quickly  succumb  to  the  attacks  of 
insect  pests  or  blights.  These  enemies  exist  at  all  times,  but  under  a 
healthy  and  undisturbed  condition  of  the  forest  their  presence  is  not 
apparent. 

The  very  delicate  relations  which  exist  can  hardly  be  appreciated 
unless  by  actual  observation.  A  forest  absolutely  free  from  intru- 
sion by  cattle  will  usually  have  its  floor  covered  with  a  heavy  plant 
growth;  the  soil  is  marshy  to  a  degree  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  traverse  the  area<  Let  a  few  cattle  run  in  the  forest,  making 
paths  and  nipping  the  younger  foliage,  and  that  although  the  ab- 
sence of  the  plants  can  hardly  be  detected,  yet  there  is  a  rapid  drying 
out  of  the  ground.  The  stranger  will  see  an  apparently  untouched 
forest,  and  yet  he  finds  that  the  soil  is  not  marshy,  and  that  the 
trees  have  begun  to  assume  an  unhealthy  appearance  and  pests 
abound. 

It  results  from  the  peculiar  character  of  the  forests  that,  as  a  rule, 
lumbering  can  not  be  carried  on,  nor  the  mature  trees  removed 
without  destruction  of  the  forest  or  injury  as  regards  its  capacity 
to  protect  the  water  supply.  This  is  notably  the  case  with  the  Ohia 
Lehua  {Metrosideras  ijolymoryha  Gand),  where  the  cutting  of  the 
larger  trees  lets  in  the  sunlight  and  quickly  results  in  destruction  of 
the  wooded  area.  This  important  tree  is  parasitic  in  origin,  has  no 
tap  root,  and  depends  for  its  life  largely  on  protection  afforded  by 
smaller  trees  and  shrubs.  In  the  case  of  the  Koa,  the  so-called 
Hawaiian  mahogany  i^Acacia  Koa  Gray),  the  conditions  are  different, 
as  the  removal  of  the  older  trees  is  not  so  injurious,  and  if  men 
and  cattle  are  excluded  and  the  Hilo  grass  {Paspalum,  conjugatum 
Berg)  gains  no  foothold,  the  young  Koa  trees  will  rapidly  increase 
and  in  ten  or  fifteen  years  a  good  start  toward  commercial  timber 
can  be  had^ 

There  are  a  few  forests  so  situated  that  their  influence  on  the 
water  supply  maj^  be  neglected,  and  these  can  be  safely  lumbered 
without  injurious  effects,  but  taking  the  forests  as  a  whole,  it  must 
be  said  that  the  development  of  the  islands  requires  that  they  be 


NATUEAL  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 


29 


permanently  reserved,  protected  by  fencing,  and  carefully  supervised 
b}^  qualified  rangers.  In  this  respect  a  beginning  has  been  made, 
but  it  is  apparent  that  larger  expenditures  are  absolutely  necessary 
to  aft'ord  full  protection  to  the  forest  growth,  and  consequently  to 
the  water  supply  upon  Avhich  in  turn  depends  the  value  and  capa- 
bility of  the  agricultural  lands  to  support  a  dense  population. 


The  general  conditions  of  the  forests  have  been  discussed  by  a 
subcommittee  of  the  Territorial  Conservation  Commission  of  Hawaii, 
consisting  of  Ralph  S.  Hosmer  and  xUonzo  Gartley.  From  their 
unpublished  report  the  following  facts  are  taken.  This'^report  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  for  a  clear  understanding  of  the  forest 
situation  in  Hawaii  it  is  necessary  that  one  be  acquainted  with  the 


30  NATURAL   EESOUECES   OF    HAWAII. 

conditions  of  topography  and  local  climate.  As  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
lie  in  the  belt  of  the  northeast  trade  winds  and  are  mountainous, 
they  have  a  climate  characterized  by  contrasts.  On  the  windward 
slopes  of  the  mountains  is  an  area  of  high  precipitation;  in  the 
leeward  districts  scant  rainfall,  even  approaching  aridity,  is  the 
rule.  These  facts,  coupled  with  the  remarkable  porosity  of  the  soil, 
due  to  its  volcanic  origin,  have  a  very  direct  bearing  on  the  forest 
situation. 

There  are  two  main  classes  of  forest  in  Hawaii.  Both  are  of  eco- 
nomic value;  one  because  it  helps  to  conserve  the  water  needed  for 
irrigation,  power  development,  and  domestic  supply;  the  other  be- 
cause it  produces  wood  and  timber.  The  forests  of  the  former  class 
are,  as  a  rule,  situated  on  the  moist,  windward  slopes  of  the  higher 
mountains.  They  are  essentially  "  protection  forests  "  in  that  their 
main  value  rests  in  the  Avater  that  can  be  got  from  them.  Those  of 
the  latter  class,  the  commercial  forests,  are  found  in  the  districts  where 
because  of  the  absence  of  running  streams  watershed  protection  does 
not  figure.  The  forests  of  the  first  class  are  by  long  odds  the  most 
important,  for  in  Hawaii  the  relation  between  sustained  stream  flow 
and  a  watershed  protected  by  a  forest  cover  is  intimate  and  pecul- 
iarly direct. 

HaAvaii  is  a  country  essentially  dependent  on  agriculture.  The 
main  crop  is  sugar  cane.  On  more  than  half  of  the  plantations  irri- 
gation is  essential  for  successful  cultivation,  for  although  the  soil  in 
the  leeward  districts  is  rich,  it  requires  water  to  be  made  commer- 
cialh^  productive^;  Water  is  also  needed  on  the  nonirrigated  planta- 
tions for  the  development  of  power  and  for  the  fluming  of  cane. 
The  important  part  that  irrigation  plays  in  Hawaii  may  perhaps 
be  made  more  apparent  by  the  statement  that  over  $15,000,000  has 
been  expended,  wholly  by  private  enterprise,  in  developing  the  irri- 
gation S3'stems  that  supply  water  to  the  cane  fields  of  the  irrigated 
plantations. 

The  importance  of  the  forest  is  generalh'  recognized  in  Hawaii 
and  has  led  to  a  strong  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  forestry.  This 
finds  expression  in  a  Territorial  Forest  Service  charged  with  the 
creation  and  administration  of  forest  reserves  and  with  the  prosecu- 
tion of  other  forest  v^'ork.  During  the  past  five  years  under  a  definite 
forest  policy  systematically  followed  16  forest  reserA^es  haA^e  been 
set  apart,  with  an  aggregate  total  area  in  1908  of  444,116  acres.  Of 
this  area  273,912  acres,  or  61  per  cent,  is  land  belonging  to  the  terri- 
torial government.  The  remainder,  170,204  acres,  or  39  per  cent,  is 
in  priA^ate  oAvnership,  but  for  the  most  part  the  owners  of  the  lands, 
fully  aware  of  the  benefits  of  forest  protection,  cooperate  actiA'^ely 
Avith  the  territorial  government  in  the  management  of  the  forest 
reserves. 

'"There  are  three  main  types  of  forest  in  Hawaii,  the  Koa  and  Ohia 
forest  lying  between  the  elevations  of  two  and  six  thousand  feet;  the 
Mamani  forest,  a  pure  stand  of  another  native  Hawaiian  tree,  found 
on  the  upper  slopes  of  the  higher  mountains;  and  the  introduced 
Algaroba  forest,  which  occurs  at  the  loAver  leA'els  on  the  leeAvard  side 
of  each  of  the  larger  islands. 

The  typical  HaAvaiian  forest  is  of  the  first  type.  The  forest  con- 
sists of  a  dense  jungle  of  trees,  high-growing  shrubs,  tree  ferns,  and 
climbers,  with  much  undergrowth  and  a  heavy  ground  coA^er  of  ferns 


NATURAL   RESOURCES    OF    HAWAII.  31 

and  bracken.  Altogether  it  is  a  plant  community  admirably  adapted 
for  the  conservation  of  moisture,  for  preventing  erosion,  and  for  serv- 
ing as  a  reservoir  to  feed  the  springs  and  streams  that  rise  within  its 
bounds.  The  most  important  trees  are  Ohia  Lehua  {Metrosideros 
polymorpha)  and  Koa  {Acacia  Koa).j 

The  forest  in  all  the  forest  reserves  is  of  this  type.  A  recent  com- 
pilation of  the  forest  areas  of  the  Territory  shows  that  the  Koa 
and  Ohia  forest  covers  approximately  1,175,000  acres.  Of  this  area 
it  is  estimated  that  eventually  about  three-cjuarters  of  a  million 
acres  will  be  included  within  forest  reserve  boundaries,  of  which 
about  70  per  cent  will  be  Government  land. 

^bove  the  level  of  the  Koa  and  Ohia  forest,  on  the  slope  of  Mauna 
Kea  (elevation,  13,825  feet)  on  the  island  of  Hawaii,  is  found  a 
nearly  pure  stand  of  another  native  Hawaiian  tree,  Mamani  (So- 
phora  chrysophyUa).  This  forest  occurs  in  a  belt  Wing  between  the 
elevations  of  6,000  and  8,500  feet.  The  area  of  the  Mamani  forest  on 
Mauna  Kea  is  G3,500  acres.  Mamani  occurs  elsewhere  in  the  Terri- 
tory, but  does  not  at  the  present  time  form  what  may  be  called  for- 
ests. It  is,  however,  spreading  rapidly,  so  that  in  future  years  it  will 
play  a  much  larger  part  than  it  does  now.j 

Mamani  makes  excellent  fence  posts,  for  which  purpose  the  trees 
in  the  upper  forest  belt  are  cut  for  local  use.  Xo  accurate  figures  as  to 
the  number  cut  are  now  available.  Otherwise  this  type  of  forest 
is  unimportant  commercially. 

The  Algaroba  (Prosopis  juUfora)  is  the  mesquite  of  the  southwest. 
This  tree  was  introduced  into  the  islands  in  1837.  It  has  now 
sj)read  so  as  to  cover  between  50,000  and  60,000  acres  below  an 
elevation  of  1,000  feet  in  the  leeward  districts  of  the  larger  islands 
of  the  group.  It  is  spreading  rapidly  along  the  leeward  coasts  and 
is  also  gradualh'  climbing  to  a  higher  elevation^^ 

The  algaroba  forest  is  the  largest  single  source  of  fuel  supply 
in  the  Territory.  It  is  estimated  that  over  3,000  cords  are  sold  annu- 
ally in  Honolulu.     The  price  varies  from  $12  to  $14  a  cord,  delivered. 

The  algaroba  forests  are  further  of  value  because  the  pods  make 
good  stock  feed  and  also  because  the  tree  is  one  of  the  important 
plants  locally  for  bee  food.  It  is  estimated  that  for  the  calendar 
year  1907  the  total  amount  invested  in  apiaries  and  other  equipment 
for  the  manufacture  of  algaroba  honey  was  $125,000  and  that  the 
gross  receipts  for  algaroba  honey  products  for  the  vear  were  over 
$25,000. 

It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  primary  value  of  the  Hawaiian 
forest  rests  in  the  influence  it  exerts  on  the  conservation  of  water, 
and  that  the  connnercial  aspect  relatively  takes  second  place.  But 
in  the  leeward  districts  on  the  island  of  Hawaii  are  considerable 
areas  where  oAving  to  the  great  porosity  of  the  soil  there  are  no  per- 
manently running  streams.^  Here  the  main  value  of  the  forest  rests 
in  the  wood  and  timber  that  it  can  be  made  to  produce.  The  two 
Hawaiian  woods  of  commercial  importance  are  the  koa  and  ohia 
lehua.  Both  are  heavy,  close-grained  hardwoods.  Koa  is  used  for 
interior  finish,  furniture,  cabinetwork,  and  veneering.  It  is  now  sold 
in  the  markets  of  the  American  mainland  under  the  name  ''  Hawaiian 
mahogany."'  Ohia  is  valuable  for  railroad  ties.  The  systematic 
lumbering  of  this  class  of  Hawaiian  forest  began  in  Octofjer,  1007, 
when   a    contract   for   90,000,000   board   feet   of   ohia    railroad   tie 


32  NATURAL   EESOURCES    OF    HAWAII. 

material  was  made  between  a  local  compan}^  and  the  Santa  Fe  Rail- 
way Company. 

A  tie  mill  with  a  daily  capacity  of  2,500  ties  has  recently  been 
erected.  The  first  regular  shipment  of  ties  is  to  be  made  in  the  win- 
ter of  1908-9.  No  accurate  estimate  either  of  the  amount  of  timber 
or  the  exact  area  covered  by  forests  of  the  commercial  class  have  j^et 
been  made,  but  the  area  is  sufficient  and  the  stand  heavy  enough  to 
justify  the  continuation  of  lumbering  operations  for  a  considerable 
time. 

The  fact  that  none  of  the  native  trees  in  Hawaii  furnishes  con- 
struction timber  has  led  to  extensive  tree  planting,  both  by  the  terri- 
torial government  and  by  private  interests.  This  work  has  been 
going  on  for  the  last  thirty  years  and  is  constantly  increasing  in 
extent  and  importance.  The  trees  principally  planted  are  several 
kinds  of  eucalyptus,  the  Australian  ironwood  and  silk  oak,  and  the 
Japanese  cedar.  Wood  and  timber  cut  from  the  planted  forests  in 
Hawaii  are  now  being  used  for  fence  posts,  railroad  ties,  bridge  tim- 
bers, and  wagon  work.  Practically  all  the  construction  timber  used 
in  Hawaii  is  imported  from  Puget  Sound  and  northern  California, 
mainly  redwood  and  northwest  (Douglas  fir). 

In  the  reports  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  it  is  stated  that  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  there 
were  imported  into  Hawaii  from  the  mainland  30,003,000  feet  b.  m. 
of  timber,  boards,  and  planks,  valued  at  $565,425.  For  the  same  year 
17,476,000  shingles,  valued  at  $39,207,  and  other  unmanufactured  lum- 
ber to  the  value  of  $116,756  were  also  imported,  making  in  all  a  total 
of  $721,388  for  unmanufactured  wood  products.  The  value  of  manu- 
factured wood  products  imported  during  the  same  fiscal  5'ear  was 
$214,648.  Further  comment  on  the  desirability  of  doing  even  a  little 
toward  securing  a  local  source  of  supply  is  unnecessary. 

A  forest  fire  law  similar  to  that  of  California  was  enacted  by  the 
territorial  legislature  at  the  session  of  1905.  The  territorial  superin- 
tendent of  forestry  is  ex  officio  chief  firewarden,  and  provision  is 
made  for  a  corps  of  district  firewardens  to  be  paid  for  duty  actually 
jDerformed. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  plantation  managers  and  other  influential  citi- 
zens agreed  to  take  these  positions  without  remuneration.  The  law 
provides  j)enalties  in  case  of  damage  resulting  from  the  careless  or 
malicious  use  of  fire.  Since  its  enactment  there  have  been  few  fires 
of  consequence,  due  in  large  part  to  a  better  public  sentiment  created 
by  the  presence  of  the  law  on  the  statute  books  and  to  the  interest 
aroused  in  the  matter  at  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  law. 

INSECT    PESTS    AND    BLIGHTS. 

In  consideration  of  new  agricultural  industries  or  increase  of 
present  products  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  met  is  in  the  insect 
pests  or  blights.  AVlien  the  islands  were  first  discovered  the  country 
Avas  singularly  |ree  from  these.  The  fly  and  mosquito  quickly  came 
with  the  Europeans,  and  from, time  to  time  other  insects  have  been 
accidentally  introduced.  Freed  usually  from  natural  enemies  the 
conditions  on  the  islands  have  been  remarkably  favorable  for  the 
spread  of  insect  life  as  well  as  of  plants  and  animals.  The  uniform 
climate,  the  absence  of  frost,  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  absence 


NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII.  33 

of  enemies  have  resulted  in  a  rapid  spread  of  new  life  almost  un- 
precedented in  the  history  of  other  parts  of  the  world.  This  is  true 
also  of  parasitic  or  similar  diseases  of  men  and  animals.  The  islands 
have  furnished  a  wonderful  breeding  ground  and  held  for  experiment. 

A  recognition  of  this  fact  has  led  to  the  establishment  of  as  strict 
a  quarantine  as  possible,  not  only  against  the  diseases  of  human  and 
animal  life,  but  also  against  the  enemies  of  plant  life.  This  quaran- 
tine, however,  was  begun  too  late  to  intercept  some  of  the  worst 
pests.  Already  the  losses  to  the  sugar  business  alone  through  insects 
have  amounted  to  millions  of  dollars  annually.  It  has  thus  been 
necessary  to  vigorousl}^  fight  these  pests  and  endeavor  to  restore  the 
equilibrium,  such  as  that  brought  about  by  nature  in  other  parts  <jf 
the  world. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  method  of  fighting  insect  and  other 
pests  is  by  direct  attack,  by  poisoning,  or  mechanical  traps.  The 
failure  of  such  methods  in  the  case  of  many  of  the  common  insects 
and  vermin  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  although  white"  men  have 
been  carrying  on  this  warfare  for  ages,  the  ordinary  household  pests 
flourish  throughout  the  civilized  world,  notably  the  common  house 
fly,  rats,  mice,  mosquitoes,  fleas,  etc.  On  the  islands  surprising  prog- 
ress has  been  made  along  a  different  line,  nameh',  that  of  fighting 
the  foe  by  enlisting  its  natural  enemies.  The  most  striking  case  of 
success  in  this  line  has  been  the  victor}^  over  the  leaf  hopper,  a  small 
fly  which  literally  swept  out  of  existence  thousands  of  acres  of  valu- 
able cane  and  threatened  to  bankrupt  the  sugar  men.  This  insect 
was  probably  introduced  from  the  Orient ;  innumerable  devices  were 
tried  for  killing  it  by  spraying  and  other  mechanical  means.  It 
was  reasoned,  however,  that  in  the  country  from  which  it  probably 
came  there  must  be  natural  enemies  to  prevent  its  becoming  con- 
spicuous, as  it  was  not  known  to  have  wrought  serious  injury  else- 
Avhere.  Accordingly,  search  was  made  for  its  habitat,  and  this  being 
found,  its  natural  enemies  were  also  discovered,  brought  to  the 
islands,  cultivated,  and  given  facilities  for  attacking  the  leaf  hopper. 
The  result  has  been  phenomenal  and  is  a  striking  tribute  to  the 
sagacity  of  the  men  who  initiated  and  financed  the  investigation,  and 
both  from  a  scientific  and  business  standpoint  carried  it  to  a  con- 
clusion. In  a  single  season  the  pest  was  reduced  to  insignificant 
proportions,  and  the  last  year's  sugar  crop,  that  of  1908,  amounting 
to  521,123  tons,  has  exceeded  all  anticipations. 

Other  destructive  insects  have  been  introduced,  and  in  spite  of  pre- 
cautions it  is  possible  that  still  others  will  come.  The  most  de- 
structive now  known  to  the  interest  of  the  small  farmer  is  the  so-called 
"melon  fly"  {Danes  cucarhltoi  cog.)^  Avhich  destroys  cucurbitaceous 
vegetation,  or  the  gourd,  cucumber,  tomato,  and  similar  plants,  largely 
raised  for  home  consumption  as  well  as  for  shipment.  This  fly  now 
greatly  injures  the  gardens  on  the  islands  and  efforts  are  being  made 
to  prevent  its  spread  to  California.  To  guard  against  further  in- 
troduction of  similar  pests,  it  is  necessary  to  maintain  a  strict  inspec- 
tion of  all  vegetable  products  brought  from  the  Orient. 

The  history  of  the  introduction  of  new  species  of  animal  and  vege- 
table life  in  the  islands  is  exceedingly  interesting,  as  each  in  turn  dis- 
turbs the  balance  of  natural  conditions  which  had  been  previously  estab- 

S.  Doc.  068,  GO-2 3 


34  NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 

lished  and  results  often  injuriously  or  beneficially  to  human  health 
or  business  prosperity.  It  is  impossible  to  predict  what  success  will 
be  obtained  with  any  given  new  plant,  because  its  enemies  are  not 
known ;  in  the  same  way  it  is  difficult  to  anticipate  the  benefits  or 
injury  from  bringing  in  a  new  animal.  The  story  of  the  mongoose 
is  well  known,  this  little  animal  being  introduced  to  keep  down  the 
rats,  but  it  soon  became  a  question  as  to  whether  the  benefits  in 
killing  rats  were  made  up  by  the  injuries  in  destroying  birds  and 
barnyard  fowl.  Great  care  is  being  taken  in  regulating  experiments 
of  this  kind  to  see  that  no  further  mistakes  are  made. 

On  these  islands,  isolated  for  centuries,  the  life,  both  animal  and 
vegetal,  has  developed  along  lines  entirely  different  from  that  on  the 
continental  areas,  being  relieved  largely  from  competition  with  other 
migratory  life.  The  natives,  freed  from  contact  with  other  races, 
have  not  had  the  advantage  which  results  from  the  weeding-out 
process  due  to  the  continual  introduction  of  various  diseases.  Thus 
it  has  resulted  that  the  island  life  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to  invasion 
and  responds  very  quickly  to  any  disturbing  influence. 

POPULATION. 

The  population  of  the  islands  has  declined  rapidly  within  the  his- 
toric period.  Tradition  has  it  that  the  population  had  already 
begun  to  decrease  notably  when  the  islands  were  visited  by  Capt. 
James  Cook  in  1778.  His  estimate  was  approximately  400,000. 
After  the  visits  of  Europeans,  the  decline  was  acceleratecl  by  intro- 
duction of  epidemic  diseases,  and  notably  from  time  to  time  by  viru- 
lent Outbreaks  of  smallpox  and  measles.  The  lowest  point  in  total 
population,  that  preceding  the  influx  of  Orientals,  was  reached  about 
1875,  when  the  total  number  of  inhabitants  was  not  much  over  56,000. 
The  natives  have  continued  to  steadily  decrease  in  number,  but  there 
has  been  a  slight  increase  in  part-Hawaiians  resulting  from  the  union 
of  natives  with  the  whites  and  Asiatics. 

The  number  of  whites  from  America  and  Europe  has  steadily 
increased  from  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  whaling  fleets.  The 
most  notable  addition  to  the  population  has  been  through  the  intro- 
duction of  Orientals  as  field  laborers.  The  Chinese  began  to  come 
in  small  numbers  about  1870,  the  flood  rapidly  swelling  and  reaching 
a  maximum  about  1896.  Since  annexation  in  1898  as  a  result  of  the 
application  of  the  exclusion  law,  the  number  of  Chinese  has  decreased. 

The  Japanese  began  to  be  brought  to  the  islands  about  1886  and 
have  come  in  larger  and  larger  numbers  until  in  1908  the}^  formed 
the  greater  part  of  the  population,  being  estimated  at  72,000  out  of 
a  total  population  of  170,000,  or  43  per  cent  of  the  total.  There  are 
also  about  5,000  Koreans  in  addition. 

The  necessities  of  cheap  and  effective  laborers  on  the  sugar  planta- 
tions has  led  to  a  search  throughout  the  entire  world  for  suitable  men. 
The  history  of  the  efforts  made  in  this  direction  is  instructive,  al- 
thougfi  the  results  have  not  been  wholly  satisfactory  from  the 
planters'  standpoint.  The  chief  white  labor  is  now  Portuguese, 
largely  from  Madeira  and  Fayel,  these  having  been  brought  to  the 
country  at  various  times,  the  principal  influx  being  about  1880.     The 


NATURAL  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 


35 


36 


NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 


last  estimate  of  population,  that  in  the  report  of  Governor  Walter  F. 
Frear  for  1908,  gives  the  population  in  round  numbers  as  follows : 

Population  of  Hawaiian  Islands. 

Hawaiian  and  part  Hawaiian 35,000 

Teutons,  including  Americans,  English,  (ierman,  and  allied  races 12,000 

Latins : 

Portuguese ^ 23,  000      , 

Spanisli 2,  000 

Porto    Ricans 2,000 

27,00* 

Oriental : 

Chinese 18,000 

Japanese 72,  000 

Korean 5,  000 

95,000 

Others 1,000 


170,  000 


Nationality  of  voters  in  1908. 


Although  the  Orientals  aggregate  95,000  or  56  per  cent  of  the  pop- 
ulation they  can  under  existing  law  have  no  part  in  the  civil  gov- 
ernment. Thus  the  greater  part  of  the  population  of  the  islands  are 
aliens  not  eligible  for  citizenship.  Comparing  the  voters  with  the 
total  population,  it  may  be  said  that  of  the  Hawaiians  and  part 
Hawaiians  1  person  in  4  is  a  voter.  The  same  proportion  holds  in 
the  case  of  those  of  American  or  northern  European  origin.  In 
the  case  of  the  Portuguese  or  southern  Europeans,  1  person  in  30 
is  a  voter.     Among  the  Chinese,  1  in  100,  and  among  the  Japanese 


NATURAL  RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII.  37 

1  in  10,000  is  a  voter  from  the  fact  that  he  was  naturalized  before 
annexation. 

This  proportion  will  change  rapidly  as  the  children  now  in  schools 
reach  the  voting  age.  Then  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  Portu- 
guese and  Spaniards  will  take  a  larger  and  larger  interest  in  politi- 
cal affairs,  and  the  Oriental  children  born  on  the  islands  subsequent 
to  June  14,  1900,  will  take  an  active  part  in  legislation.  The  num- 
ber of  children  of  Orientals  eligible  as  future  voters  is  now  large. 
The  voting  strength  at  present  lies  with  the  Hawaiians  and  part 
Hawaiians,  who  comprise  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  electors. 

The  estimata  for  1908  is  as  follows : 

Voters  in  1D08. 

Hawaiian  and  part  Hawaiian 9,000 

American : 2,  000 

Teutonic  European 1,  200 

Portuguese 800 

Chinese 2&4 

Total 13,  264 

The  Americans — that  is,  those  who  have  come  from  the  United 
States  and  who  presumably  have  been  brought  up  under  republican 
institutions — form  only  15  per  cent  of  the  voters. 

The  variation  in  number  of  voters  is  shown  by  the  following 
statement : 

Registered  voters,  1900  to  1908. 

1900 10, 180 

1902 12,  612 

1904 13,  449 

1906  13, 577 

1908 13,  264 

As  to  the  citizenship  of  the  future,  an  indication  is  shown  in  the 
nationality  of  the  school  children,  as  follows : 

National  Hi/  of  school  children.  1908. 

Per  cent. 

Hawaiian 20 

Part    Hawaiian 15 

American  and  Teutonic-English 5 

Portuguese 19 

Japanese 24 

Chinese 11 

All  others 6 

Total 100 

Not  all  of  the  oriental  school  children  were  born  in  the  United 
States,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  them  will  probably  return  to 
Japan  and  China,  but  the  next  generation  of  voters  will  have  a  large 
proportion  of  Orientals.  The  small  proportion  of  school  children  of 
direct  ^S.merican  ancestry  is  very  significant  in  this  connection.  As 
to  the  attitude  which  may  be  taken  by  these  future  voters  on  terri- 
torial and  national  questions  it  is  impossible  to  predict,  but  it  is 
surely  a  national  duty  and  a  needed  precaution  to  attempt  to  increase 
and  diffuse  patriotic  ideals  and  conceptions  of  the  duties  of  citizen- 
ship, such  as  is  being  done  to  a  notable  degree  in  the  public  schools  of 
the  Territory. 

The  social  condition  of  the  inhabitants  is  indicated  in  part  by  their 
religious  affiliations.     Accurate  figures  are  not  obtainable,  but  from 


38 


NATURAL  RESOUECES   OF   HAWAII. 


the  census  of  1896  and  estimates  based  upon  it  it  is  found  that  prac- 
tically 40  per  cent  of  the  population  support  some  oriental  religion, 
such  as  Buddhism  or  Confucianism,  24  per  cent  are  Catholics,  21  per 
cent  Protestants,  5  per  cent  Mormon,  and  10  per  cent  have  no 
affiliation. 

Taking  only  the  native  Hawaiians  and  part  Hawaiians,  the  re- 
ligious preferences  are  indicated  by  the  fact  that  20  per  cent  report 
no  affiliations,  40  per  cent  Protestant,  28  per  cent  Catholic,  and  12 
per  cent  Mormon. 

INDUSTRIES. 

Agriculture  forms  practically  the  only  general  industry  on  the 
islands,  although  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  manufacturing  in  con- 


FiG.  9. — NationaUty  of  school  children,  1908. 


nection  with  it  and  a  considerable  amount  of  transportation  inciden- 
tal to  handling  the  product.  A  notable  exception  in  the  case  of  manu- 
facturing is  the  development  of  the  Honolulu  Iron  Works  ulong  the 
line  of  sugar-making  machinery.  Large  mills  have  been  built  in 
Honolulu  and  shipped  to  remote  parts  of  the  world. 


SUGAR. 


Sugar  is  the  principal  industry,  over  nine-tenths  of  the  products  of 
the  island  being  raw  or  refined  sugars.  The  business  is  one  which 
under  present  conditions  requires  not  only  large  capital  but  also  a 
very  large  amount  of  manual  labor.  Being  carried  on  in  competition 
with  countries  where  such  labor  is  very  cheap,  the  wages  paid  must 


NATURAL  RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII,  39 

be  correspondingly  low.  The  islands  have  the  benefit  of  the  federal 
protective  tariff'  on  sugar  and  it  is  presumable  that  a  continuation 
of  the  industry  rests  largely  upon  this  somewhat  artificial  and  pos- 
sibly insecure  basis.  The  jiroduction  of  sugar  has  increased  rapidly 
from  282,807  tons  in  1899  to  521,123  tons  in  1908.     (See  fig.  10,  p.  40.) 

The  business  is  conducted  bv  about  05  corporations  organized  with 
capital  of  from  $200,000  to  $400,000  each  and  total  of  $150,000,000, 
chartered  usually  under  the  laws  of  California.  The  stock  of  these 
is  held  by  7,000  persons  living  largely  in  California  and  in  the 
islands,  and  possibly  to  a  less  extent  in  England  and  Germany.  Some 
of  the  plantations  have  made  large  profits  and  have  declared  divi- 
dends up  to  2  per  cent  per  month.  Others  have  never  paid  expenses 
and  some  have  gone  into  bankruptcy.  Sugar  stocks  have  been  the 
favorite  form  of  specidation  (not  to  say  gambling)  in  the  islands. 
The  production  of  sugar  in  1908 — 521,123  tons  valued  at  over 
$40.000,000 — is  equal  to  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  amount  consumed  in 
the  United  States. 

About  one-half  the  area  producing  sugar  cane  is  irrigated  or,  say, 
105,000  out  of  213,000  acres.  This  irrigated  land  was  reclaimed 
from  aridity  by  private  enterprise  at  a  cost  of  about  $15,000,000  or 
about  $140  per  acre.  In  comparison  with  this  it  may  be  noted  that 
the  cost  of  reclamation  in  the  mainland — say  for  sugar-beet  culture — • 
has  been  about  $40  per  acre. 

The  sugar  produced  per  acre  ranges  from  less  than  1  ton  to  10  tons 
and  averaged  for  1908  in  round  numbers  4^  tons  per  acre.  From 
irrigated  land  the  average  was  5f  tons  per  acre  and  for  nonirrigated 
land  3  tons  per  acre.  Only  about  on-e-half  of  the  sugar  land  produces 
each  year.  The  value  of  the  sugar  is  about  $70  per  ton,  or  from  $280 
to  $420  per  acre  every  other  year.  Over  one-half  the  cost  of  the  sugar 
is  in  labor,  this  being  about  GO  per  cent,  but  the  proportion  is  gradu- 
ally decreasing  as  labor-saving  machinery  is  introduced  and  laborers 
become  more  efficient. 

A  large  item  of  expense  is  that  for  fertilizers,  over  $2,000,000  per 
year  being  expended  for  this  purpose.  An  average  of  $4.65  per  ton 
of  sugar,  or  $22.20  per  acre  of  crop. 

It  requires  from  IS  to  30  months  to  mature  a  crop  of  sugar  cane, 
so  that  the  number  of  acres  cultivated  for  each  crop  does  not  repre- 
sent the  total  area  in  use.  For  example,  the  crop  of  1906  came  from 
96,000  acres  out  of  a  little  less  than  200,000  acres,  part  of  which  was 
lying  fallow  and  part  in  young  cane. 

RICE. 

Second  in  importance  to  sugar,  but  a  long  way  behind  it  in  value, 
is  the  production  of  rice,  estimated  at  $2,500,000'.  as  against  $40,000,- 
000  for  sugar.  This  industry  is  wholly  in  the  hands  of  Chinese,  who 
rent  many  of  the  marshes  or  wet  lands  formerly  used  by  the  natives 
for  raising  taro.  The  plants  are  all  set  by  hand,  and  the  grain  is 
handled  in  a  most  primitive  way,  little  or  no  machinery  being  used. 
An  acre  of  good  land  will  produce  two  crops  a  year  at  a  Value  of  $200 
to  $300  per  acre.  About  10.000  acres  are  cultivated  mainly  on  Oahu 
and  Kauai.  The  rentals  are  from  $10  to  $50  per  acre  per  annum, 
with  water.  The  fields  are  submerged  for  most  of  the  growing  season 
and  require  a  large  quantity  of  water. 


40 


NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 
DIVERSIFIED    INDUSTRIES. 


From  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  islands  by  white  men  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  introduce  or  develop  various  agricultural 


/ 

A 

N      A 

^____^ 

^ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

( 

/ 

/ 

TONS 

600,000 


500.000 


400.000 


300,000 


200,000 


100,000 


1899      1900      1901      1902      1903      1904      1905      1906      1907      1908 

Fig.  10.— Production  of  sugar  from  1899  to  1908. 

industries,  as  the  raising  of  rice,  cotton,  pineapples,  coffee,  tobacco, 
and  other  crops  suited  to  the  tropical  conditions.  Greatest  success 
has  been  obtained  with  the  sugar  cane,  and  the  large  profits  have  re- 


NATURAL  EESOURCES   OF   HAWAII.  4l 

suited  in  directing  principal  attention  to  this  crop.  •  Continued 
efforts  have,  however,  been  given  with  varying  success  to  the  other 
possible  sources  of  revenue,  as  it  has  been  appreciated  that  depend- 
ence upon  a  single  industry  which  in  turn  rests  upon  a  protective 
tariff  and  upon  oriental  labor  is  not  a  highly  desirable  condition. 
The  difficulty  of  obtaining  adequate  labor,  the  constant  struggle 
against  insect  pests  and  bliglits,  the  expense  of  transportation,  the 
former  unsettled  political  conditions,  have  resulted  in  a  slow  prog- 
ress, but  there  are  still  optimistic  advocates  of  diversified  farming 
who  expect,  through  the  operations  of  the  experiment  stations  stimu- 
lating and  supplementing  individual  efforts,  to  finally  surmount  all 
obstacles.  The  rich  soil  and  excellent  climate  promise  success  if  only 
sufficient  skill  or  knowledge  can  be  had  to  overcome  what  seems  to  be 
minor  difficulties. 

Various  tropical  and  semitropical  fruits  are  produced  successfully 
and  meet  ready  sale,  such  as  bananas,  dates,  oranges,  lemons,  grapes, 
cocoanuts,  and  avacados,  P^nglish  walnuts,  apples,  and  plums  grown 
in  the  uplands,  rubber,  tobacco,  and  vanilla  are  being  produced  in 
small  quantities,  and  with  the  hope  of  extending  these  industries. 
Hay  and  forage  crops  are  successful,  but  all  are  awaiting  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  steady  market  and  better  transportation  by  wagon  road, 
railroads,  and  steamship  lines. 

The  annual  production  of  coffee  is  about  1,500  tons,  valued  at 
$300,000.  About  4,500  acres  are  in  bearing  trees,  all  in  the  humid 
portion  of  the  islands.  The  prices  have  been  so  low  that  many  coffee 
raisers  have  gone  out  of  the  business,  but  the  area  planted  to  coffee 
is  now  slowly  increasing  as  the  Hawaiian  coffee  is  being  better  known. 
It  is  well  adapted  to  wdiite  labor  and  to  small  homestead  conditions. 
With  persistent  organized  effort  this  industry  will  undoubtedly 
become  more  im})ortant.  It  has  required  years  of  exj^eriment  to 
determine  the  most  favorable  localities  and  conditions  of  humidity  to 
reach  the  best  results.  Many  of  the  earlier  plantations  Avere  in  places 
too  rainy  for  success. 

The  pineapple  industry  is  now  regarded  as  offering  the  best  oppor- 
tunitfes  for  the  white  settler.  There  are  now  9  pineapple  canneries 
in  the  Territory  and  nearly  5,765  acres  in  pineapples.  Of  this  85 
per  cent  is  controlled  by  small  corporations  and  about  7  per  cent  by 
Japanese.  The  area  planted  is  divided  about  as  follows :  Hawaii,  350 
acres;  Oahu,  4,505  acres;  jNIaui,  GOO  acres,  and  Kauai,  250  acres.  At 
present  prices  the  value  of  the  1908  crop  canned  would  approximate 
$1,250,000.    The  total  output  is  about  17,000  tons. 

The  sisal  industry  is  one  which  is  looked  to  as  furnishing  oppor- 
tunitias  for  the  utilization  of  large  areas  of  land  which  otherwise 
would  lie  waste.  The  plant  requires  relatively  little  water;  as  low, 
it  is  claimed,  as  G  to  9  inches  of  annual  rainfall  will  produce  fair 
results.  It  flourishes  best,  however,  when  it  has  a  larger  rainfall.  It 
responds  quickly  to  occasional  showers,  but  during  long  periods  of 
droughts  the  plants  stop  growing  and  apparently  show  no  injurious 
effects.  It  will  grow  on  very  stony  soil  and  appears  to  be  well 
adapted  to  the  loAvlands  near  the  seashore  which  are  underlain  with 
coral  or  where  the  rocks  nearly  cover  the  surface.  There  the  plant 
inserts  its  roots  between  the  loose  blocks  and  seeks  nourishment  from 
the  thin  soil. 


42  NATURAL   EESOURCES   OF   HAWAII. 

Several  small  mills  have  been  constructed  for  extracting  the  fiber 
but  the  mechanical  devices  for  this  purpose  are  by  no  means  satis- 
factory. Improvements  are  constantly  being  made  tending  to  reduce 
the  amount  of  hand  labor.  The  fiber  is  excellent  in  quality,  com- 
manding, it  is  claimed,  a  higher  price  than  the  best  from  Yucatan. 

The  total  imports  of  raw  fibers  into  the  United  States  is  stated  to 
amount  to  $35,000,000.  Of  this  amount  from  $13,000,000  to  $15,000,- 
000  is  paid  for  sisal,  which  is  admitted  without  tariff.  It  is  believed 
that  on  the  islands  there  are  upward  of  half  a  million  acres  capable 
of  producing  sisal  and  having  little  value  for  other  purposes.  From 
this  there  could  be  obtained  a  product  of  150,000  tons,  which  at  0 
cents  per  pound  Avould  produce  $18,000,000.  The  prices  now  paid 
range  from  a  little  over  6  cents  up  to  8  cents  per  pound. 

LABOR. 

For  a  half  century  the  question  of  labor  has  been  and  still  is  a 
most  perplexing  problem.  The  production  of  sugar,  the  main  busi- 
ness of  the  islands,  is  under  present  conditions  dependent  upon  cheap 
labor,  mainly  that  of  Orientals  paid  $17  or  more  in  addition  to  house, 
water,  and  medical  attendance.  There  are  approximately  95,000 
of  these  aliens,  over  half  of  the  entire  population  of  the  islands. 
Besides  the  Orientals  there  are  27.000  Portuguese,  including  with 
this  Spaniards  and  others  of  Latin  tongues.  These  men  receive  a 
slightly  higher  wage,  $22  per  month  and  upward,  and  demand  per- 
haps better  consideration  than  the  Orientals,  as  they  are  eligible  for 
citizenship  and  are  more  effective  as  laborers. 

With  the  rigid  enforcement  of  the  Chinese-exclusion  act,  the 
st'opping  of  emigration  from  Japan,  and  the  prevention  of  contract 
labor  from  abroad,  the  supply  of  cheap  laborers  has  been  practically 
cut  off.  Attempts  are  being  made  to  bring  immigrants  from  San 
Francisco  or  even  from  New  York,  securing  them  as  they  arrive 
from  Europe.  The  difficulty  of  getting  these  people  across  to  the 
islands  without  losing  them  to  other  employers  is  very  serious. 

The  labor  market  is  now  practically  surrounded  by  an  almost 
impassable  barrier;  the  number  of  laborers  who  are  willing  to  work 
in  the  fields  at  low  wages  is  decreasing,  while  the  demand  is  steadily 
increasing.  The  planters,  it  is  understood,  have  a  fixed  scale  and 
theoretically  at  least  do  not  compete  among  themselves,  although  by 
various  methods  of  contract  or  bonus  for  length  of  service,  there  is 
a  tendency  to  increase  indirectly  the  wages  paid.  It  is  generally 
recognized  that  higher  and  higher  grades  of  laborers  must  be  secured 
as  the  Orientals  decrease  through  return  home  or  through  entering 
into  other  industries. 

Systematic  efforts  have  been  made  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
migratory  laborers  and  to  induce  them  to  remain  in  a  given  locality. 
The  Japanese  are  readily  moved  and  are  quick  to  resent  any  griev- 
ance. By  impulsively  shifting  from  place  to  place  their  effectiveness 
is  far  less  than  though  they  stayed  on  any  one  plantation  where  they 
could  become  familiar  with  conditions  and  the  requirements  of  the 
manager.  Their  capacity  to  work  effectively  without  constant  over- 
sight and  their  initiation  is  reported  to  be  somewhat  lower  than  that 
of  the  Portuguese. 


NATURAL  RESOURCES  OF   HAWAII.  43 

In  the  case  of  the  Portuguese  and  similar  laborers  not  only  is  the 
wage  scale  somewhat  higher  than  that  paid  the  Orientals,  correspond- 
ing to  their  greater  efficiency,  but  inducements  have  been  made  in  the 
way  of  ofl'ering  to  them  houses  and  small  tracts  of  land  on  condition 
that  they  will  live  on  the  ground  for  two  or  more  3'ears  and  will  make 
moderate  payments  in  monthly  installments.  The  offers  of  this  kind 
have  frequently  been  regarded  with  suspicion,  but  in  a  few  cases 
they  have  been  accepted.  The  average  laborer  would  rather  have  a 
dollar  or  two  more  a  month  in  cash  than  twice  its  equivalent  in  real 
property,  ap  he  is  fearful  of  being  tied  down  or  he  suspects  some 
ulterior  motive. 

In  some  localities  the  offers  of  free  land  from  the  Government  have 
been  accepted  and  small  bodies  of  laborers  are  acquiring  title.  On 
one  of  the  plantations  railroad  facilities  have  been  provided  by  which 
the  laborers  located  in  their  homes  can  reach  other  points  of  work  if 
they  so  desire.  Where  the  laborer  finds  he  is  thus  free  to  seek  other 
occupation  he  usuall}'  prefers  to  stay  near  home,  work  on  the  adja- 
cent plantation,  and  with  the  help  of  his  family  cultivate  his  own 
little  garden.  Liberal  treatment  in  such  directions  has  been  followed 
by  more  effective  work  and  by  less  desire  to  move  about  from  planta- 
tion to  plantation. 

On  the  Olaa  plantation  in  Hawaii  an  acre  of  ground  is  given  to 
men  who  have  worked  for  three  years  at  regular  wages.  Over  50 
Portuguese  and  30  Spanish  have  availed  themselves  of  this  oppor- 
tunity. With  decrease  in  supply  of  labor  from  the  outside  the  ef- 
ficiency of  the  individual  workers  now  employed  is  steadily  increas- 
ing, due  to  the  more  settled  condition  and  to  various  other  causes, 
so  that  now  it  is  believed  that  the  individual  Japanese  worker,  for 
example,  accomplishes  20  per  cent  more  than  he  did  when  he  first 
came  to  the  islands.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
Japanese  are  taking  small  contracts  for  cultivating  or  cutting  the 
cane;  with  aroused  personal  interest  they  are  doing  more  and  better 
work;  also  it  is  asserted  that  during  the  war  with  Russia  the  Japanese 
laborers  were  more  or  less  excited  and  devoted  considerable  time  to 
war  news.  After  the  cessation  of  the  war  and  with  the  stimulus  of 
rumors  of  possible  troubles  with  the  United  States,  the  laborers  re- 
sumed work  with  renewed  vigor  with  the  idea  of  accumulating  as 
much  money  as  possible  in  view  of  early  return  to  their  own  country. 

With  the  increase  of  effectiveness  of  labor  through  better  work  on 
the  part  of  the  Orientals  and  higher  grade  of  labor  for  the  Latins, 
there  is  coming  about  also  a  reduction  in  the  amount  of  heavy  man- 
ual work.  For  example,  the  planters'  experiment  station  has  dis- 
covered that  the  stripping  of  the  cane,  a  very  laborious  process,  does 
not  add  to  its  value,  but  even  the  reverse.  With  the  elimination  of 
the  stripping,  possibly  12  per  cent  of  the  labor  on  the  plantation  will 
be  reduced.  The  burning  of  the  cane  immediately  before  cutting 
tends  to  reduce  the  amount  of  material  to  be  handled.  Machinery 
is  being  introduced  for  loading  cane  as  it  is  for  unloading,  and  every 
possible  effort  is  being  made  to  utilize  labor-saving  devices,  although 
it  must  be  confessed  that  the  progress  in  this  direction  has  not  been 
as  marked  as  it  has  been  in  many  others. 

The  sentiment  of  the  ])ul)lic  as  well  as  of  the  planters  is  rapidly 
crystallizing  into  well-defined  movements  to  bring  about  not  merely 


44  NATURAL  RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII, 

a  better  physical  condition  of  the  laborers,  but  also  to  bring  to  the 
islands  only  such  men  as  are  capable  of  becoming  citizens. 

It  can  not  be  said  that  action  along  this  line  on  the  part  of  em- 
ployers is  wholly  altruistic.  It  is  due  in  part  to  the  recognition  of 
the  fact  that  the  public  welfare  demands  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
population  shall  be  no  longer  alien;  as  voters  the  field  laborers  must 
ultimately  yield  a  powerful  influence.  The  evolution  of  the  sugar 
industry  seems  to  permit  or  even  demand  a  higher  grade  of  laborer. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  planters  as  a  whole,  actuated  in  part  by 
patriotic  motives,  will  gladly  employ  a  higher  type  of  men  if  they 
can  be  had. 

The  factors  working  together  for  raising  the  standard  of  labor 
are  national,  territorial,  and  individual :  National  in  the  exclusion  of 
Orientals,  territorial  in  the  supervision  of  immigration  and  execu- 
tion of  public  health  and  quarantine  requirements,  individual  in  the 
work  being  done  singly  by  the  planters  or  through  their  association, 
notably  in  experimental  work. 

One  of  the  first  steps  in  advance  is  that  of  improving  the  laborers' 
quarters  and  of  providing  the  more  ambitious  men  with  small  homes, 
where  they  can  own  the  ground  and  become  independent.  The  edu- 
cation of  the  children  of  the  laborers  is  also  resulting  in  apprecia- 
tion of  and  demands  for  better  housing  conditions,  but  the  effect  of 
this  education  must  be  to  keep  a  considerable  part  of  the  next  genera- 
tion out  of  the  fields  unless  by  that  time  labor-saving  devices  have 
been  developed  to  a  point  where  manual  labor  is  more  largely  re- 
placed by  exercise  of  intelligence. 

The  increase  of  product  of  sugar  per  individual  employed  in  the 
field  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in  1904  about  8  tons  of  sugar  were 
produced  per  man  employed,  and  in  1908  there  were  11  tons  per  man. 

IMPORTING  LABOR. 

The  labor  question  is  by  no  means  new  now,  nor  is  it  wholly  an 
outgrowth  of  annexation.  From  the  very  beginning  of  the  sugar  in- 
dustry it  was  seen  that  the  dependence  could  not  be  put  upon  native 
labor  alone.  The  natives  were  not  only  decreasing  in  number,  but 
were  unwilling  to  work  steadily  in  the  fields.  As  early  as  1850  the 
legislative  assembly  made  provisions  for  contract  labor.  In  that 
year  the  Eoyal  Hawaiian  Agricultural  Society  was  founded  with  a 
view  to  promoting  the  interest  of  the  planters.  Under  their  auspices 
in  1852  Chinese  to  the  number  of  293  were  brought  in,  followed  by 
others  annually,  until  in  1865  the  board  of  immigration  was  created, 
and  the  Government  entering  more  and  more  into  the  details  of  immi- 
gration finally  became  practically  an  employment  agency,  seeking 
labor  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  notably  from  China,  Polynesiji,  Japan, 
Portugal,  Spain,  Germany,  Norway,  and  Porto  Ilico. 

In  all  over  180,000  immigrants  have  been  brought  to  the  islands 
since  1852,  at  a  total  cost  of  over  $9,000,000,  or  $50  each. 

The  cost  of  bringing  in  the  Japanese  has  been  estimated  at  $70  per 
individual,  of  Chinese  $75,  and  of  Portuguese  $115.  Of  the  total 
imported,  probably  a  half  have  gone  home,  others  have  died  or  left 
the  fields  and  gone  into  varied  industries,  leaving  about  45,000  labor- 
ers on  the  jilantations. 


NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF   HAWAII.  45 

One  of  the  latest  and  most  successful  attempts  to  bring  in  labor 
has  been  that  of  introducing  Portuguese  and  Spanish.  Three  steam- 
ers brought  in  during  1907  an  aggregate  of  1,400  men,  1,143  women, 
2,141  children,  in  all  4,684  individuals.  This  was  done  at  an  average 
cost,  including  the  general  superintendence  of  the  work,  of  $G2  per 
individual  or  a  little  over  $200  for  each  adult  male.  The  wages  paid 
these  men  Avill  average  at  first  probably  about  $-20  per  month. 

As  part  of  the  systematic  efforts  of  the  territorial  immigration 
commission,  there  have  been  brought  back  to  the  islands  from  San 
Francisco  a  considerable  number  of  Portuguese  laborers  who  left  the 
islands  to  seek  work  on  the  mainland,  hearing  of  the  high  prices  paid 
in  California  after  the  earthquake.  These  people  were  glad  to  re- 
turn to  the  islands,  but  did  not  have  sufficient  funds.  The  Territory 
paid  for  their  return  passage  at  an  average  cost  of  $52  for  each 
adult  male,  or  $28  for  each  individual.  There  were  thus  returned  187 
men,  03  women,  and  98  children. 

HOME    MAKING. 

The  supreme  need  of  the  islands  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
national  interest  is  that  of  increasing  the  number  of  citizens  owning 
homes  upon  the  lands.  The  relatively  great  proportion  of  laborers 
who  are  not  citizens  and  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  small  number 
of  citizens  who  are  landowners  and  who  have  been  brought  up  under 
democratic  institutions,  forms  a  source  of  weakness.  Every  possible 
effort  should  be  made  by  public  and  private  interests  to  put  upon 
the  land  the  best  obtainable  men,  who  will  live  upon  small  farms, 
cultivate  the  soil  and  become  independent,  self-supporting  citizens. 
This  need  has  long  been  recognized :  many  attempts  have  been  made 
to  remedy  conditions,  but  most  of  these  have  not  been  successful, 
owing  to  a  variety  of  reasons. 

The  development  of  an  agricultural  citizen  class — intermediate  be- 
tween the  corporations  owning  large  sugar  plantations  and  the  land- 
less migratory  laborer — is  favored  by  natural  conditions  and  by  popu- 
lar sentiment.  The  chief  obstacles  arise  from  the  overshadowing 
interests  of  the  great  sugar  industry  and  the  resulting  presence  of 
oriental  or  other  low-grade  labor,  which  tends  continually  to  crowd 
out  or  take  the  place  of  the  citizen  engaged  in  individual  enterprise. 
The  Chinese  in  past  years  gradually  replaced  the  small  farmer  and 
the  local  tradesman  and  mechanic.  In  turn  he  is  being  displaced  by 
the  Japanese,  who,  coming  originally  to  labor  on  the  ]ilantation, 
sought  easier  work,  took  small  contracts,  started  little  stores  to  sup- 
ply his  countrymen,  and  now  is  getting  into  all  agricultural  lines 
excepting  rice. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  as  matters  now  stand  the  newcomer  finds 
difficulty  in  getting  located.  He  is  welcomed  and  treated  with  hos- 
pitality and  if  he  is  a  laboring  man  or  mechanic  may  find  work,  but 
the  demand  for  such  men  is  not  large.  If  he  is  a  farmer  he  will  be 
more  than  welcome  in  sentiment,  but  from  a  business  standj^oint  he 
Avill  find  it  difficult  to  learn  of  a  piece  of  land  which  can  be  secured 
on  reasonable  terms.  It  is  probable  that  he  will  fall  in  with  several 
of  that  numerous  class  of  men  who,  not  having  succeeded  themselves,, 
spend  their  time  in  telling  others  of  the  disadvantages.     This  is  a 


46  NATURAL   RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII. 

common  condition  thronghout  all  countries  which  have  reached  a 
certain  stage  of  development  and  where  new  men  attempt  to  secure  a 
foothold.  In  initiating  a  number  of  the  reclamation  projects  on  the 
mainland  which  have  since  proved  successful,  one  of  the  first  obstacles 
encountered  lay  in  the  old  inhabitants,  who  seemed  to  make  it  a  busi- 
ness to  scoff  at  the  efforts  of  the  newcomers  and  to  assure  them  that 
the  conditions  were  such  that  they  could  not  make  a  living.  The  fact 
that  they  had  failed  was  to  them  proof  that  no  one  else  could  succeed. 

The  attitude  of  the  present  landowners  toward  increase  of  settle- 
ment is  favorable  in  theory.  Each  man  concedes  that  it  is  for  the 
public  good  to  subdivide  some  of  the  larger  holdings  and  to  put  these 
in  the  hands  of  the  best  class  of  citizens.  It  is,  however,  inseparable 
from  human  nature  for  Jones  to  think  that  Smith  should  subdivide 
his  land  first.  There  are  always  some  special  reasons  why  Jones 
thinks  that  his  case  is  exceptional  and  he  should  not  be  called  upon 
to  make  possible  concession  to  the  public  good. 

There  has  been  and  possibly  now  is  a  fear  among  a  few  plantation 
managers  that  the  small  farmer  wall  become  a  competitor  in  bidding 
for  the  services  of  the  laborers  brought  to  the  plantation  at  great 
expense.  There  is  some  reason  in  this,  but  in  the  long  run  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  dangers  imagined  from  this  source  will  be  more  than 
outweighed  by  other  benefits. 

The  territorial  government  is  attempting  through  the  wise  use  of 
the  public  lands  to  promote  settlement,  and  has  from  time  to  time 
modified  the  laws  with  this  end  in  view.  The  practical  difficulties  are 
great,  but,  nevertheless,  continued  efforts  are  being  made  and  every 
possible  solution  is  being  considered.  The  commissioner  of  the  public 
lands,  having  the  disposal  of  lands  in  direct  charge,  is  studying  from 
time  to  time  the  best  method  of  subdividing  each  piece  of  government 
land  as  the  lease  expires,  but,  with  limited  assistance  and  the  restric- 
tions necessarily  imposed,  these  results  come  slowly. 

The  chief  obstacles  to  more  rapid  subdivision  of  lands  and  settle- 
ment of  the  islands  lie,  first,  in  the  prevailing  ignorance  concerning 
the  country  and  its  possibilities;  second,  in  the  present  character  of 
the  land  ownership;  third,  in  the  presence  of  a  gi-eat  body  of  Ori- 
entals; fourth,  in  transportation  problems;  and,  fifth,  in  the  absence 
of  local  or  agricultural  banks. 

First.  Although  the  islands  have  been  part  of  the  United  States 
for  more  than  ten  years,  it  is'  probable  that  relatively  few  persons  on 
the  mainland  seeking  new  homes  or  larger  opportunities  are  aware  of 
the  attractions  afforded  by  the  climate  and  fertile  soil.  This  condi- 
tion is  being  remedied  by  active  efforts  of  the  Territory  and  of  vari- 
ous semiofficial  organizations,  such  as  the  promotion  committee,  which 
is  circulating  literature  and  calling  attention  to  the  opportunities. 

Second.  The  chief  difficulty  met  by  a  prospective  settler  upon 
reaching  the  islands  is  to  find  any  piece  of  land  available  for  his  use. 
It  is  true  that  the  territorial  government  is  subdividing  lands  and 
offering  these  from  time  to  time,  but  most  of  the  attractive  places  are 
immediately  taken  by  men  resident  on  the  islands,  some  of  whom  may 
already  have  a  home  elsewhere.  There  is  practically  no  private  land 
for  sale,  but  there  is  some  offered  for  lease  at  what  appear  to  be  very 
high  prices. 

Third.  The  presence  of  the  oriental  laborer,  forming  the  great 
mass  of  population,  produces  an  artificial  condition  of  social  and 


NATURAL    RESOURCES    OF    HAWAII.  47 

business  life  not  conducive  to  settlement  by  whites.  In  the  aiid  States 
of  the  mainland  where  men  take  up  land  and  make  it  valuable  by 
their  own  labor,  every  man  is  on  the-  same  social  plane  with  his 
neighbor  and  vies  with  him  in  physical  as  well  as  mental  energies 
expended  in  daily  labor.  In  the  island,  however,  where  practically 
all  the  ph3^sical  labor  is  performed  by  Orientals,  the  tendency  is  for 
the  white  settler  to  endeavor  to  have  his  work  done  by  Orientals. 
He  tries  to  secure  a  larger  piece  of  land  than  he  could  cultivate  him- 
self and  to  work  it  by  cheap  labor  rather  than  take  the  small  area 
and  intelligently  till  it  by  his  personal  efforts.  It  is  not  that  the 
climatic  conditions  are  unfavorable  to  physical  exertion,  but  largely 
because  it  is  not  customary  for  the  white  man  to  do  Avork  which  can 
be  performed  by  Japanese. 

Another  unfavorable  condition  growing  out  of  the  presence  of  the 
Orientals  is  that  they  are  willing  to  pa}'  large  rent  for  a  piece  of  land 
instead  of  trying  to  own  it,  and  are  content  with  relatively  small 
earnings.  The  white  man  can  not  compete  with  them  in  their  own 
lines.  His  standard  of  living  is  so  different  that  although  he  may 
possess  superior  intelligence  he  can  not  profitably  utilize  the  ground 
to  the  same  degree  as  his  oriental  neighbor. 

Fourth.  The  problem  of  transportation  is  one  which  is  ever  pres- 
ent in  a  growing  community.  The  present  facilities  of  communica- 
tion between  the  islands  are  in  their  way  excellent  and  are  constantly 
improving.  There  are  also  on  some  of  the  islands  the  beginnings  of 
railroads  more  or  less  encircling  them  and  bringing  the  products  to 
convenient  ports.  There  are  only  three  of  these,  however,  where 
steamers  can  lie  at  a  dock,  namely,  at  Honolulu,  on  Oahu,  at  Hilo,  on 
PaAvaii,  and  at  Kahiihii,  on  Maui.  At  all  other  ports  on  the  three 
islands  named,  and  at  all  points  on  the  other  islands,  the  products 
must  be  lightered,  usually  in  small  boats,  resulting  in  considerable 
expense  and  some  uncertainty  and  danger  in  transfer. 

There  are  on  most  of  the  islands  excellent  wagon  roads  and  others 
projected  to  reach  the  productive  land.  These  roads,  originally  built 
by  the  i^rovisional  government  and  continued  by  the  Territory,  are 
now  in  the  hands  of  county  officials.  Some  are  well  maintained,  on 
others  the  funds  have  not  been  effectively  expended.  The  cost  of 
transporting  products,  therefore,  to  the  main  lines  of  trade  is  fre- 
quently high,  but  with  increase  of  production  it  is  proper  to  expect 
that  the  facilities  will  be  improved  and  the  cost  notably  lowered. 

Fifth.  There  are  practically  no  banks  or  institutions  advancing 
money  to  farmers.  The  sugar  industiy  is  financed  by  a  few  large 
agencies  who  have  little  or  no  interest  outside  of  this  particular  line. 
The  fruit  raiser  or  packer  or  the  small  farmer  does  not  have  the  facil- 
ities of  obtaining  money  possessed  in  most  agricultural  communities 
on  the  mainland.  The  Japanese  have  already  appreciated  this  fact, 
and  by  white  assistance  are  starting  a  bank  to  help  their  fellow  coun- 
trymen finance  sugar-planting  contracts  and  similar  enterprises. 

HOME   MAKING   ON   THE  PUBLIC   LANDS. 

The  apparently  obvious  thing  to  do,  and  the  action  proposed  by 
every  person  when  he  first  considers  the  subject,  is  to  cut  up  the 
public  lands  as  soon  as  the  leases  run  out  and  distribute  the  lands  in 
small  tracts  to  citizens.     For  example,  the  Territory  owns  34,000  acres 


48  NATURAL    EESOUECES    OF    HAWAII. 

of  rich  land  now  leased  to  the  plantations  and  cultivated  in  sugar 
cane.  This  land  has  a  value  of  from  $50  to  $200  per  acre,  and  would 
yield  an  annual  rental  of  $8  or  $10  per  acre  or  even  more.  The  ques- 
tion is  frequently  asked,  Why  not  cut  up  this  cane  land  into  tracts  of 
40-acre  homesteads?  This  seems  to  be  a  simple  way  of  treating  the 
j)roblem.  It  has,  hoAvever,  been  put  to  trial,  without  success.  In 
general  effect  it  has  proved  as  advantageous  to  the  public  as  it  would 
have  been  to  give  to  each  applicant  $2,000  to  $8,000  in  gold.  The  re- 
cipient of  this  gift  would  be  greatly  pleased,  but  the  public  treasury 
would  be  depleted  by  this  amount. 

The  giving  away  of  this  rich,  highly  cultivated  land  upon  condi- 
tion of  residence  upon  it  has  resulted  in  the  recipient  making  some 
indirect  arrangement  by  which  he  virtually  leases  to  the  adjacent 
plantation  the  land  which  has  been  given  him.  Pending  the  time  of 
securing  complete  title  he  establishes  a  nominal  residence  with  the 
apparent  intention  of  selling  the  land  as  soon  as  he  can  obtain  title 
from  the  government.  The  home  has  usually  consisted  of  the  cheapest 
possible  house  or  shack  in  which  a  human  being  can  sleep  occasionally 
and  occupying  the  least  possible  amount  of  land,  the  remainder  being 
devoted  to  sugar  cane  or  other  plantation  purposes.  The  homesteader 
has  not  added  to  the  value  of  the  land  in  any  respect,  either  by  his 
personal  labor  or  by  intelligent  supervision  of  the  work  of  others. 
The  conditions  are  similar  to  those  on  the  mainland  where  homestead 
entries  were  received  on  valuable  timber  lands.  Merely  nominal  resi- 
dence was  established,  and  when  title  was  received  the  land  was 
promptly  sold  to  some  large  lumber  compan3^  As  far  as  benefit  to 
the  commonwealth  was  concerned  the  government  might  better  have 
sold  the  land  directly  and  converted  the  proceeds  to  public  uses. 

The  experience  had  in  these  lines  illustrates  the  fact  that  lands 
which  are  most  valuable  for  some  established  and  highly  profitable 
line  of  industry  will  not  be  actually  used  as  homesteads  even  if  sub- 
divided and  given  to  applicants.  No  way  has  yet  been  devised  for 
keeping  a  man  on  his  homestead  after  he  obtains  title  if  he  believes 
that  he  can  make  money  more  easily  by  selling  his  land  to  some 
corporation.  To  have  a  successful  homestead,  one  which  is  a  benefit 
in  increasing  the  prosperity  of  any  country,  it  is  necessary  to  have, 
first,  a  man  who  really  desires  to  own  and  cultivate  a  piece  of  land, 
and  who  has  the  ability,  physical  and  to  a  certain  extent  financial, 
so  to  do:  second,  the  land  open  to  homestead  entr}'^  must  be  of  such 
quality  and  so  located  that  the  entryman  can  raise  food  for  home  con- 
sumption and  will  prefer  to  live  at  home ;  and  third,  the  surrounding 
conditions  of  market  and  transportation  must  be  such  that  the  prod- 
ucts can  be  sold  at  prices  profitable  enough  to  support  his  family.  If 
he  can  make  as  good  or  nearly  as  good  a  living  by  renting  his  land 
he  will  probably  do  so.  Nothing  can  keep  a  homesteader  on  his  land 
but  the  fact  that  this  is,  in  his  own  opinion,  the  most  suitable  place 
to  live,  and  when  the  earnings  which  he  receives  from  cultivating  the 
soil  are  higher  than  those  obtained  in*  any  other  way. 

One  of  the  difficulties  of  bringing  about  actual  homesteading  is  that 
inherent  in  distinguishing  between  the  bona  fide  settler  and  the 
speculator.  At  present  the  territorial  laws  do  not  limit  the  number 
of  homesteads  that  a  man  can  take,  with  the  result  that  having  secured 
one  homestead  the  owner  can  dispose  of  it  and  get  another  and 


w 


NATURAL   RESOURCES    OF    HAWAII.  49 


another  in  succession  without  adding  to  the  population  of  the  country. 
A  somewhat  active  sentiment  on  the  part  of  the  majority  of  citizens 
is  to  the  effect  that  the  preference  should  l)e  given  to  natives.  Tlie 
idea  prominent  in  public  discussions  when  homesteads  are  mentioned 
is  that  the  public  lands  should  be  divided  up  among  the  present 
population. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  each  native  should  have  a  home  and 
sufficient  area  for  the  support  of  his  family,  but  it  is  not  adding  to 
the  strength  of  the  commonwealth  to  divide  land  among  men  who  will 
not  live  upon  it  and  improve  it.  The  policy  recently  adopted  of 
leasing,  for  a  term  of  090  years,  small  areas  to  the  natives  has  proved 
most  beneficial,  both  to  them  and  to  the  public.  In  this  way  a  man 
and  his  family  may  have  sufficient  land  for  their  support  if  the}'  use 
industr}',  and  this  land  Avill  remain  in  the  family  as  long  as  it  is  used 
as  a  home.  This  policy  appears  to  put  a  stop  to  much  of  the  specula- 
tion which  has  prevented  effective  homesteading  in  the  past. 

The  disposal  of  the  public  lands  in  a  limited  number  of  small  tracts 
from  time  to  time  as  leases  expire  has  prevented  any  general  adver- 
tising of  the  fact  that  public  land  is  available  and  thus  has  not  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  possible  settlers  froju  the  mainland.  It  ap- 
pears probable  that  if  any  considerable  number  of  farm  units  could 
be  disposed  of  by  lot,  it  would  be  possible  to  attract  the  attention  of 
desirable  settlors  and  bring  into  the  islands  the  class  of  men  urgently 
needed. 

IS  HOME-MAKING  PRACTICABLE? 

Is  it  practicable  in  face  of  existing  conditions  of  land  ownership, 
of  character  of  population,  and  of  labor  to  greatly  increase  the 
number  of  small  independent  farmers,  men  who  can  and  will  maintain 
a  relatively  high  standard  of. living?  Can  the  pioneer  white  farmer 
get  a  foothold  on  the  islands  where  good  agricultural  land  now  rents 
each  3'ear  at  prices  from  $5  to  $50  per  acre  ?  Will  he  bring  his  family 
to  a  comnuinity  composed  largely  of  Asiatics  or  the  poorer  gi'ades  of 
Latin  races?  Will  he  be  content  to  labor  in  his  field  when  most  men 
of  his  race  now  act  as  overseers  or  employers  and  where  coolies  or 
peasants  are  hired  for  all  manual  work?  Will  he.  on  gaining  full 
title  to  his  homestead  sell  or  lease  to  an  Oriental,  or  be  gradually 
crowded  out,  as  has  been  the  white  mechanic  and  shopkeeper?  It  is 
evident  that  unless  he  can  obtain  a  foothold  and  will  be  able  to  main- 
tain the  standard  of  living  and  the  social  and  civic  ideals  of  the  Re- 
public, there  is  little  to  be  gained  by  attempts  to  merely  increase 
l)opulation. 

There  is  little  or  nothing  in  the  climate  to  prevent  attaining  in  the 
islands  as  great  or  ev(Mi  greater  success  in  small  farming  as  that 
reached  on  the  mainland.  There  are  hotter  parts  of  California  and 
more  enervating  conditions  in  various  parts  of  the  newly  settled 
AVest.  There  are  similar  difficulties  in  lack  of  transportation  or  in 
j)hysical  obstacles  to  be  overcome.  The  problem  is  not  so  much  one  of 
natural  environment  but  of  artificial  or  civic  conditions.  As  a  conse- 
quence the  remedy  to  be  applied  or  the  impediments  to  be  removed 
are  mainly  artificial  or  social.  The  bringing  about  of  the  desired  con- 
dition of  a  larger  population  and  a  greater  percentage  of  intelligent 

S.  Doc.  m%  <><i-2 i 


50  NATURAL    RESOURCES    OF    HAWAII. 

voters  must  come  in  a  different  way  from  that  on  the  mainland. 
There  a  high  devek)pment  was  reached  by  the  single-handed  combat 
of  each  pioneer  with  his  natural  environment.  On  the  islands,  as 
above  stated,  the  chief  obstacles  are  of  human  or  social  origin,  end  a 
broad,  intelligent  cooperation  must  be  had  of  all  civic  organizations 
combining  toward  the  common  end.  In  this  should  be  united  the 
agencies  of  the  nation,  the  guardian  of  the  Territory,  as  well  as  those 
of  the  Territory  itself  and  the  commercial  or  semipublic  organiza- 
tions of  the  people  on  the  islands. 

Progress  can  not  be  made  toward  securing  a  larger  settlement  by 
breaking  down  any  of  the  existing  industries  or  taking  away  lands 
now  devoted  to  high  grades  of  agriculture.  What  is  needed  is  to 
supplement  and  add  to  the  present  industries  rather  than  interfere 
with  them,  or,  putting  the  matter  in  more  concrete  form,  it  is  not 
for  the  best  public  policy  to  try  to  cut  down  the  area  in  sugar  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  some  other  less  valuable  crop.  Some  well- 
intentioned  persons  have  argued  that  in  order  to  increase  the  desirable 
population  of  the  islands  the  sugar  plantations  must  be  restricted 
and  the  lands  now  in  sugar  cane  divided  up.  It  is  believed  that  this 
is  neither  practicable  nor  desirable.  The  sugar  industry  is  the  main 
support  of  the  islands  and  will  probably  so  remain  until  conditions 
have  radically  changed  throughout  the  entire  country.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  are  knoAvn  to  be  large  tracts  of  land  which  are  not  being 
put  to  their  best  use,  largely  because  of  lack  of  sufficient  moisture. 
These  are  held,  generally,  by  estates  or  by  the  government,  and  in 
some  respect  the  problem  of  their  use  is  similar  to  that  which  has 
been  successfully  met  by  reclamation  under  the  Federal  Government. 
The  underlying  principles  there  have  not  been  to  deprive  any  in- 
dustry of  needed  land  but  to  take  the  lands  which  otherwise  would 
be  waste  and  desolate,  bring  water  to  them,  and  make  it  possible  for 
men  with  skill  and  energy  to  put  the  lands  in  such  condition  that 
they  become  valuable  and  are  capable  of  supporting  the  families 
of  their  owners. 

SUMMARY. 

The  Hawaiian  Islands  are  a  part  of  the  United  States  forming 
the  Territor}^  of  Hawaii.  Though  small  in  area  the  Territory,  from 
its  location,  has  a  peculiar  importance  in  the  national  welfare  and 
defense.  It  is  agricultural  and  now  devoted  practically  to  one  in- 
dustry— sugar. 

The  prosperity  of  the  sugar  industry  and  hence  of  the  Territory 
rests  on  the  unstable  basis  of  the  federal  protective  tariff  and  a 
migratory  alien  labor  class  composed  mainly  of  Orientals. 

There  is  a  conspicuous  lack  of  the  body  of  citizenship  which  has 
made  possible  the  existence  of  the  American  commouAvealth,  namely, 
the  "  plain  people,"  property  owners  of  moderate  means  with  thrift, 
energy,  and  high  civic  ideals. 

The  climatic  conditions  and  natural  resources  are  highly  favorable 
to  the  increase"  of  diversified  agriculture  and  to  the  building  up  of  a 
class  of  independent  small  farmers — needed  for  national  growth  and 
defense. 

The  artificial  conditions — those  of  human  control^social  and 
otherwise,  such  as  arise  from  the  presence  of  a  preponderance  of 
Orientals,  are  not  now  favorable  to  the  success  of  this  class. 


NATUKAL   RESOURCES   OF    HAWAII.  51 

It  is  possible  by  wiser  use  of  natural  resources  and  broader  states- 
manship to  remove  many  obstacles  and  to  stimulate  the  increase  of 
property-owning  citizens. 

This  is  being  done  in  part  by  the  territorial  government  utilizing 
its  public  lands  as  far  as  practicable  for  homesteads,  but,  being  done 
in  a  small  way.  it  is  not  bringing  to  the  Territory  the  class  of  citizens 
who  are  building  up  other  Territories. 

The  reclamation  of  considerable  areas  of  public  land  by  the  Federal 
Government,  as  is  done  elsewhere  under  the  terms  of  the  act  of  June 
17.  1902,  would  attract  this  class  of  small  farmers  and  stimulate 
diversified  agricultural  industries  as  no  other  known  agency  could. 


O 


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